Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Lighting Design/Product Company Muneji Toh Architects
Lead Designers Muneji Toh
Completion Date March 2025
Project Location Japan
Entry DescriptionWe created a Byobu using fat wood, which is rich in resin.
Byobu is a traditional Japanese folding screen. The fat wood is a precious material that can be extracted from pines, which is rich in resin that are over hundreds of years old. The resin, which has accumulated over many years, changes a red color when it catches light, unlike the resin of other trees. This material is combined with Byobu to create Fat Wood Byobu. Fat Wood Byobu glows a bewitching red in the light.
Fat Wood Byobu have 3 functions. By using special joints called " string hinges " to connect the panels, Fat Wood Byobu can be transformed into various shapes, and its function also changes.
1. Partition
2. Art Wall
3. Lighting Fixture
The fat wood is high in resin, and when the resin rises to the surface it becomes dirty with dust, so a special coating is used to prevent the resin from rising to the surface while preserving the beauty and grain of the wood, and to ensure functionality.
The fat wood catches the light and glows a bewitching red, like wooden stained glass. In addition, as the resin ages, it permeates the entire grain of the wood, and the surface changes to a beautiful amber color, lighting up with a deeper red.
We believe that Fat Wood Byobu, which makes use of the characteristics of woods will be an advanced design that will add elegance to a variety of spaces.
Sustainability ApproachThe resin of pine, which has long been disliked because it is high in resin and difficult to use and maintain, has been transformed into a beautiful material through various processing techniques and changed it to an advanced design.
By transforming previously unused wood into beautiful materials and creating Byobu for use in everyday life, we recycle the fat wood of our forest resource.
There are many resinous pines around the world. By utilizing these pines from around the world and transforming them into beautiful materials, we hope to promote the use of resinous pine trees worldwide.
