MIRAI CONVENIENCE STORE

The MIRAI CONVENIENCE STORE was created as a hub for a project to revitalise the small Japanese village of Kito. The name MIRAI, which means “future” in Japanese, reflects the hope that this facility will serve as a place where children can grow and learn. As Kito is also the first place in Japan where the grafting of yuzu citrus trees has been conducted successfully, promising a future for the village, the architectural structure of the store was designed based on the motif of a yuzu tree. With the participation of villagers, the three-dimensional truss structure was painted yellow in reference to the citrus fruit. Due to the high rainfall in the region, a broad roof and walls of glass were installed so that visitors to the store can experience and enjoy the natural beauty of rain and the Kito region at all times without getting wet. All elements are contained in one space under the vast roof and bathed in warm light. The convenience store serves as a lifeline for the people of the area, bringing together children, villagers and travellers, and bears the promise of a future for the village.

Statement by the Jury

The design of this convenience store has emerged as the perfect realisation of an idea. The light and simple construction with a large roof and glass facade offers exactly the openness that had been envisioned, a space where people can meet and which they can use for community activities and personal exchange. The village thus gets back, as the store’s name suggests, what it was literally cut off from: a future.

Red Dot: Best of the Best

Credits

Client:

KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Design:

KOKUYO Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Project Team:

KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS (Produce/Planning) Keisuke Unosawa (Creative Direction/Graphic Design)

KOKUYO Co., Ltd.: Wataru Sato (Architecture/Interior Design) Koji Aoki (Architecture/Interior Design) Tomoya Kuroo (Architecture/Interior Design) Makiko Suga (Architecture/Interior Design)

GEN Architects Inc.: Youhei Mitsuishi (Architecture/Interior Design) Takuma Kanou (Architecture/Interior Design) HKL&D: Hisaaki Kato (Lighting Design) Norimasa Harada (Equipment Design)