NPO Aoyama Design Forum (ADF), a non-profit organization, announced the results of the judging for the "ADF Design Award 2024", an award for architects from around the world, and has decided on the Grand Prize-winning work and the Category Excellence Award. The Grand Prize went to Angel Borrego Cubero (Office for Strategic Spaces). The Excellence Award went to Takashige Yamashita + YoungAh Kang (Takashige Yamashita Architects), Hiroshi Hamura and Yuki Hamura (NOA Environmental Design). Congratulations to all the winners.

This award is a significant design competition with a total prize of US,000 and a jury of five world-renowned figures in the architecture and design industry. The winners will have the opportunity to attend the award ceremony in Milan during the Milano Salone starting April 16, 2024, and to exhibit their works in collaboration with the Graduation Award of the Polytechnic University of Milan. We would like to thank all those who entered the competition and all those who supported the organization of the competition.

GRAND PRIZE: Angel Borrego Cubero / Office for Strategic Spaces（Spain）

Category: Residence

Angel Borrego Cubero is an award-winning architect, educator, and researcher who leads the Spain-based practice Office for Strategic Spaces. OSS combines professional work, striving for a critical and architecturally-driven balance between building, energy, and sustainability, with independent research seeking data-informed participation and a more inclusive urban planning and real estate market. Among their buildings are the rehabilitation of the historical building 'La Carbonería' in Barcelona and the creative industries centre 'Factoría Cultural Matadero Madrid' . Research projects include 'Urban Space Station,' an advanced greenhouse to improve urban life, 'Pump-Up Housing,' addressing innovative rehabilitation of post-war collective housing, and the documentary 'The Competition,' a behind-the-scenes look at architecture competitions.

Excellence Award: Takashige Yamashita + YoungAh Kang / Takashige Yamashita Architects (Japan）

Category: Hospitality

Takashige Yamashita

Takashige Yamashita, a qualified first class architect in Japan, is a principal of Takashige Yamashita Office (TYO). After obtaining a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Tokai University and Master’s degree in Architecture from Tokyo University of the Arts, he worked at ‘Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA’ for 10 years. Since the foundation of his own practice in 2015, the firm has won several renowned domestic and international awards including Japan Architecture of the Year, Architecture Asia Awards for Emerging Architects (Gold), Taipei International Design Award (Bronze), AIJ Young Architects Award, Bauwelt Award, etc. Alongside his architectural practices, Yamashita also teaches at Kyoto University of the Arts, Kanagawa University, Chiba Institute of Technology and Taylor's University.

YoungAh Kang

YoungAh Kang is a partner at Takashige Yamashita Office (TYO). She graduated from the University of Toronto School of Architecture and studied at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Architecture until she left to start working at ‘Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA’ in 2011. Upon completion of Master of Architecture and Urbanism degree from DRL at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, she joined Takashige Yamashita Office in 2017. Her achievements at TYO includes AIJ Selected Architectural Designs, Taipei Design Award, SD Review 2022, Tokyo Architecture Award, Japan Architecture of the Year, etc. YoungAh is currently committed to teaching architecture at Tokyo Designer Academy and Taylor’s University, while she also participates in lectures and critiques in several public and academic institutions.

Excellence Award: Hiroshi Hamura + Yuki Hamura / NOA Environmental Design (Japan)

Category: Commercial Office

Hiroshi Hamura

Representative Director, NOA Kankyo Sekkei, Inc. Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, graduated from the Department of Architecture, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, and established NOA Kankyo Sekkei in 1983.

Yuki Hamura

Born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1985, he graduated from the Shin Takamatsu Laboratory, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 2010. 2011-2013, Herzog de Meuron, Basel, Switzerland. 2013-present, NOA Environmental Design.

Major awards (NOA Environmental Design) include: Yamanashi Prefecture Architectural Culture Encouragement Award (1997), Tadao Ando Jury Competition "Transparent House" Winner(2010), Selected for the embassy grant project “Organic Architecture” commemorating the 110th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Greece/ Athens, Greece(2010), Selected for “The Architecture Foundation Masterclass”/University of Oxford, England(2016), Architectural Institute of Japan 39th Tohoku Architecture Award Special Award(2019), iF design award 2024, etc.

The design award theme is "Design of Architecture". The architectural work must be beautiful in appearance and original and innovative in its design process, and the building must be beneficial to humans and environmentally friendly. It was a challenging architecture that broke new ground in architectural design. ADF will set up a venue at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan to exhibit the award-winning works during the "Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan," which attracts the world's attention. In addition, ADF plans to exhibit the works at the ADF Gallery Space in Aoyama, Tokyo.

・Emanuele Stamuli / Stamuli AB
・Fernando Menis / Architect
・Lorenzo Bini/ Member of the Council of the Order and Foundation of the Order of the Architects of Milan
・Suzy Annetta / Design Anthology
・William Potts / NR2154

1.Beauty: Artistic value in shape, color, detailing, and material selection
2.Innovation: Responding to social changes, using new materials, innovative construction processes, and pioneering designs. Innovation is a challenge within limited conditions.
3.Usefulness: The building is beneficial and sustainable for its users and the environment.
4.Regional / Cultural / Chronological : The building blends with and differentiates itself from the region, and its superficial beauty fits with the times and cultural context.

・Best Performance Award: US,000 (1 film from all categories)
・Excellence Award: US,000 (2 entries from all categories)

・Hospitality: hotel, casino, theme park, pavilion
・Commercial & Office: shopping center, department store, office building
・Residence（housing complex）: except for private residence and interior design
・Education & Sports: school, research facility, stadium
・Cultural Buildings: theater, library, museum, art gallery, hospital
・Public Architecture: government and municipal building, airport, station, port