A Sake House | FIREWATER

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  • Type: Open Competition, Idea Level Competition

A Sake House, a space that primarily serves sake as well as acts as a small restaurant.

 

Fig: 1 – Shuzo (Saké-brewing) during the Edo Period (Credits-Hisikawa Sori)

Ancient potion

A few thousand years after rice was first cultivated in Japan, kuchikamizake-sake was one of the earliest forms of sake on record. It was a combination of chewed rice and yeast which was fermented and then served as a drink. Luckily people who appreciated the taste enough developed other means of extracting sake from rice in the 8th century. Thus, the first brewing department was established in the Imperial Palace in Nara, and the drink began its road to prominence. During the Edo period, the cities in Western Japan. Nara, Kyoto, Kobo etc. were at the forefront of technological development and had a reputation in large-scale sake production. Statistics show that in 1804, 5% of town’s houses had sake brewers and more than 20-30 million sake was shipped that year to Edo, present-day Tokyo. Even after sake was merged with other additions during the war and in experimentation,  traditional sake was considered separate and had special brewing techniques and vessels that enhanced its qualities.

This ancient drink to date retains most aspects of its traditional brewing rooms, methods, consumption, and qualities.

 

Fig: 2 – Sake houses remain an isolated typology in today’s time (Credits- Patrycja Chociej)

Preserving tradition

Sake has developed a special cultural significance. It is so entwined that it has become one with the country’s customs and traditions. Different types of sake are served for different occasions. The Japanese end or start their important ceremonies with sake. The drink has also given rise to special vessels/cups, they are as important as the sake and their variety depends on the temperature of sake served.

Although due to mass production of sake and variety in other alcoholic drinks, fewer than 2,000 exist in breweries in Japan today. These breweries still retain time-honored, traditional, methods of making sake. Every region and brewer has its methods and this is what makes sake unique to each brewery.

Other than Japan, sake is steadily growing in popularity in America, Europe, and Australia. Many brewers and enthusiasts are opening traditional sake outlets in the west to further spread and preserve this traditional drink.

 

Fig: 3 – Sake bistro MiwaMiya in Tokyo (Credits-nippon.com)

Brief of the competition

The population of Japan has been very interested in trying and adapting to new changes since globalization. The youth prefer other alcoholic drinks rather than sake in places where they can enjoy food too. Trends like this have put pressure on traditional breweries and have led the brewers to seek newer audiences for their techniques. Instead of seeking new enthusiasts, can the typology of a brewery be adapted into a more formal space that is in tune with the current demands?

Brief: The challenge here is to design a Sake House, a space that primarily serves sake as well as acts as a small restaurant.

The design seeks to explore how a sake house works in Japan but the context of today. The design should embody the current architecture style while taking inspiration from its existing heritage. How does the idea of something iconic to a country like Japan for so long, translate into the architecture of today?

 

Design objectives

This challenge aims to help participants practice planning of spaces & services, translating ideas into the design of volume, furniture, and finishes. The following objectives can be a point of beginning to conceive this design.

Interiors: Furniture, Finishes, Flooring, Lighting, Material Palette
Function: Functions of the place apart from being a sake house.
Planning: Micro Planning of the layout of sake house.
Identity: Retaining the architectural and cultural identity of sake breweries and the drink itself.

 

Site

Location: Japan, Osaka
Area: 741 sq.m
Height restriction: 9 metres
Maximum Built-Up Area:  555 sq.m
Ground coverage: 30%
Coordinates: 34°42’01.9″N 135°29’39.4″E

The site is located near the Osaka railway station, making it an apt for a sake house due to its station proximity and thus having a natural flow of people in the vicinity.  The site surroundings too have recreational features of their own, enabling participants to play with outdoor-indoor spaces. As it is located in the urban heart of Osaka, sake will be introduced as a traditional drink in a modern setting.

 

Program outline

The following programmatic outline is the point to begin your design at. You can add more functions and activities in relevance or modify the below design program.

Services

Sake storage, kitchen, pantry, Toilets

Sake storage

Prep Area: 20-25 sqm

Sake Counter/Reception

Seating Area: 80-100 sqm

Seating area for 80 people (max.)

Services Area: 50-65 sqm

Kitchen, Pantry, Storage, Staff Room, Washroom (Staff and Guests), Service Entry

Additional Activity   Area: 20-25sqm

What other activity will your sake household do?

Participants can assume their contexts and users before initiating their design process.

SUBMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

  1. Recommended number of sheets/presentation images/boards:
    3 (Three)of size [2800px x 3500px] in portrait digital format (JPEG only).
  2. Minimum 3 (Three) & No maximum sheet limit. Each image should be less than 15MB. (Do not submit PNG format)
  3. Minimumrequisite submission are sheets/boards + Cover image containing:
    1. Plan, Site plan
    2. Key concept section x 1
    3. 3D views x 4
    4. Additional cover image of 2000px x 1000px
    5. Write an article/story in the Journal section#of the project (of about 700-1000 words) answering the questions given in the guide pdf you receive in the additional resources.

 

Submission Requirements

  • You have to deliver a graphic/visual outcome representing the given issue, based on the following outlines.
  • Only one final graphic design needs to be submitted.
  • The image should be of size [2800px x 3200px] in portrait or landscape digital format (JPEG only).
  • On the same sheet format, the design process/iterations that lead to the final graphic should be depicted sequentially. You can upload the design process/iterations in the form of multiple images after the final graphic design is uploaded.
  • You can decide on a suitable number of images to explain your design process. The number of images is not a benchmark for scoring – the clarity of the process will be.
  • The images should be less than 15MB each. (Do not submit PNG format)
  • The graphic should have a title under which it would be uploaded as a project on the UNI platform. The title also has to be incorporated on the main graphic sheet and should be designed suitably with relevant typography.
  • A short description of the Graphic and its intent (100 words).

 

 

Additional Resources

This competition contains additional resources that contain a set of files useful to complete the competition submission. This folder is made available on your profile dashboard automatically as soon as you register.

This additional resource folder of this competition contains:

Submission Format files in PSD | AI | InDD,
Guide to Journal Section + Questions,
Site Images,
High-Resolution Site Map, and
CAD file of the Site plan.

 

Eligibility

  • The minimum eligible age for participation is 18 years.
  • The competitions are open worldwide for designers from any discipline.
  • You can participate as an individual or as a team of a maximum of 4 members.
  • All students and professionals can participate in the competitions.
  • For Students: A student is someone who is currently enrolled in a full-time graduate/undergraduate program at a university anywhere in the world on the date of registration. We will need proof of identity upon the result declaration. The proof of identity should clearly state that you were enrolled in the institution at the time of registration. You may also produce a bonafide/authorized certificate from the institution as proof of identity. Students are allowed to involve one mentor/professor/guide in their team provided the mentor has been authorized via a bonafide certificate of the University.
  • All the participants who do not belong to the student category will be considered professionals by default. Ph.D. candidates will also be considered professionals.
  • Institutional access is a program for students only if they are participating in the competition as a group of 20 people and want to submit 5-20 entries together. Institutional access has to be done under the guidance of a mentor/professor.
  • A team with even one professional will be considered as a professional entry.

 

Base Rules

  • You can submit more than one project but they have to be registered separately.
  • Your submission as part of any competition is linked to your UNI user account which stands as your identification. We do not have any identification codes.
  • Hence, your submission sheets should not include any form of identification or personal information such as your names, organization, city, etc.
  • This is a design idea challenge only. There is no built commission/realization associated with the problem.
  • Each competition requires submission of original work. If referring to an existing work like text, theory, images, or ideas, giving due credit is mandatory. Otherwise, it will be counted as plagiarism.
  • The official language of the competitions is English.
  • The registration fee is non-refundable. Therefore, should a participant or team change their mind, refuse or fail to submit an entry after registering, the registration amount will not be refunded. Read the cancellation policy for more information.
  • If there are any changes in competition brief or schedule, they shall be updated on the website.
  • When you register for a competition, you are automatically agreeing to the terms and conditions of UNI.
  • Anybody working with UNI or associated with us are not eligible to participate or receive awards in competitions hosted on UNI. That includes currently working employees at UNI, jury members, community moderators or contract agencies, and their direct relatives.

 

Judging Criteria

 

The entries will be judged by an international jury of the competition on the following criteria:

 

Presentation: The fundamental to a good entry is a visual delivery of ideas.

Concept/Idea: Quality of thought and intent in pre-design phase.

Programme/Spaces: How the spaces are conceived along with the programme.

Design Outcome: The final architectural outcome of the solution.

 

The judging panel can also add other criteria based on their internal discussions – which will be in line with the problem statement. Participants are advised to fulfill above given criteria first in their design. Names of the jury panel will be announced soon.

The decision of the Judges Panel is final, no appeals will be entertained and no further correspondence shall be entered into.

Please note that the jury scores are NOT affected by the number of likes on a project. Every submission is evaluated based on the judging criteria. However, ‘Likes’ play a role in determining the People’s Choice Awards.

 

 

SCHEDULE:

 

Registration Deadline:  28 February 2022

Closing Date for Submission:  1 March 2022

Announcement of Winners:  28 April 2022

 

For more details visit the website.

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