Three groups of Hiroshima University (HU) students were awarded prizes in the architectural design competition Ginchakai Architectural Culture Week Student Grand Prix 2022.

The Ginchakai Architectural Culture Week Student Grand Prix 2022 — hosted by the Architectural Institute of Japan — calls for designs and proposals of creative tea ceremony spaces to be displayed and used at the venue for the Ginchakai tea ceremony, an event held in Ginza-Dori, Tokyo. 

After a two-stage screening process — and out of 47 entries from across Japan — the works of three teams from the Architectural Project Laboratory of the Architecture Program, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at HU, were selected for the Grand Prize, Honorable Mention Award, and Jury Prize.

The Grand Prize-winning tearoom work, "Toki no Ki (Autumn Tree)," was made of cedar boards produced in Hiroshima Prefecture. Although the design is simple — consisting of a series of boards that resemble a kimono and are sewn together with twine — the work can be transformed into various shapes, such as a folding fan, cone, or spiral shape, depending on the time, place, and occasion.

The full-size model tearoom will be on display at the Ginza Terrace on the 9th floor of Ginza Mitsukoshi in Ginza, Tokyo, from October 27 to 31. An Omotesenke tea ceremony will also be held in the designed tearoom on October 30.

Grand Prize

Shotaro Yamashita and three others
Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, M2.
Work Title: Toki no Ki (Autumn Tree)

Honorable Mention Award

Chiyu Yamamoto and two others 
Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, M1.
Work Title: Hou-Un-An (Sewing Cloud Hermitage)

Jury Prize

Shunto Shimada and three others
Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, M2.
Work Title: Uturoi Sasou Aki-Moyou (Autumn Patterns that Invite Transition)

About Ginchakai

Ginchakai is an annual open-air tea ceremony held in the Ginza-Dori area.
On the day, visitors can experience tea ceremonies from six schools of Japanese tea: Omotesenke, Urasenke, Mushakojisenke, Edosenke, Enshuryu, and Senchado. The year 2022 will mark the 20th occasion of the event. Tea rooms designed and produced by students have been exhibited and used at the Ginza Mitsukoshi venue since 2009.