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MIRAI CONVENIENCE STORE

Kokuyo

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Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Single-Brand Store
6.63
7.58
7.24
5.40
6.71
Andrea Zickhardt
Andrea Zickhardt Managing Director at Holzer Kobler Architekturen
4
7
5
4
5
Preeti Singh
Preeti Singh Brand Director at India Design ID
4.02
7.03
6.38
4.48
5.48
Ronnie Belizaire
Ronnie Belizaire Studio Practice Leader and Principal at HKS Inc.
This project doesn't appear to be p...
2
5
5
1
3.25
Anne-Laure Pingreoun
Anne-Laure Pingreoun Founder at Alter-Projects
4
7
5
5
5.25
Liz Gallagher
Liz Gallagher Studio Director at March and White Design
4
7
5.75
5
5.44
Claude Saos
Claude Saos Head of interior architecture and design at LISAA Strasbourg
2
6
5
3
4
Julia Chiaramonti
Julia Chiaramonti Founder at Julia Chiaramonti
4.15
5
4.83
4.87
4.71
Judy Dowle
Judy Dowle Associate Design Director at Studio XAG
A considered space visually and fun...
2
7
5
3
4.25
Tanya Suvannapong
Tanya Suvannapong Design Director at Gensler
4
7
5
4
5
Leendert Tange
Leendert Tange Creative Partner at Storeage-Group
it works... the art is great yet so...
4
6
5
5
5
Peter Pan
Peter Pan Founder and CEO at Noa Galaxy
4
6
4
4
4.5
Quan Huang
Quan Huang Chief Designer at WJID
3.83
5
4.26
5.11
4.55
Ismael Abedin Ingelmo
Ismael Abedin Ingelmo Founder and Director at DXMID
4.52
6.88
5.42
5.17
5.5
Servaas Vehmeijer
Servaas Vehmeijer Partner and Managing Director at The Invisible Party
5
6
5
5
5.25
Designer
Client
Kito Design Holdings
Floor area
185 ㎡
Completion
2020
Social Media
Instagram
Three-dimensional Truss Structure

KITO DESIGN PROJECT
Located in central Shikoku, the Kito district of Tokushima Prefecture, which planned this Mirai Convenience Store, boasts Japan's highest precipitation. This rare area rich in natural beauty has been called the "Tibet of Shikoku". However, like other rural communities it is evolving into a marginal settlement, where a population of only about 1000 people lives in an area the same size as a Tokyo ward. The private firm KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS has launched a project intended to revive this tiny village of Kito using the power of culture, and the Mirai Convenience Store was built to serve as the hub of this project. This project also includes CAMP PARK KITO, which is already complete, as well as the planned MANGA LIBRARY HOTEL intended to serve as sacred ground for manga fans, and turning a disused school into a facility for hands-on agricultural experiences is also planned. 

In addition, since there was no supermarket near the village, it was a food desert where people had to drive two hours to go shopping. In considering the future of this settlement, we thought that the place was needed to become a lifeline for the village, and to help raise children and connect villagers with visitors. 

MIRAI CONVENINENCE STORE
The name "Mirai" ("future" in Japanese) was inspired by manga artist Osamu Tezuka's term for children: "miraijin" ("people of the future"). It reflects the hope that this facility will serve as a place where children in the area can grow and learn. Kito is also the first place in Japan where grafting of yuzu citrus trees has been conducted successfully. 

To wish dreams for Kito's future, we designed the architectural structure based on the motif of a yuzu tree. It was constructed by painting a standard three-dimensional truss structure yellow, with the participation of villagers. Reflecting the fact that the area has the highest precipitation in Japan, a broad roof was installed that also shelters the patio, and the exterior walls of glass provide a feel for the natural beauty of the rain and the Kito area—among the most beautiful sights in Japan. All elements are contained in one space under the vast roof, including fixtures at lower heights in consideration of children and seniors, and restrooms and other individual rooms with low ceilings. 

This vast roof is bathed in warm light, and the place is used everyday to host village events and to live, bringing together under one roof grandmothers and grandfathers, children and their mothers, and travelers from across Japan and around the world. In addition, during the nights here, which are so dark that satellites can be seen, the digital clock counts time in the new age of Kito Village. This convenience store both serves as a lifeline for the people of the area, two hours' drive from the nearest supermarket, and creates a new future for Kito.