Interview about The Chakai Exhibition, winner of the A' Interactive, Experiential and Immersive Design Installations Award 2025
Tango Chirimen, soaked with images projected by projection mapping, was used as a psychological boundary. The extremely thin cloth fluctuates with the slightest movement of air, such as the movement of a person, and responds to the movement of the cloth interactively by means of sensors embedded in the cloth. The material used for the floor is a decorative plywood made by pasting rush grass, which would normally have been discarded, onto plywood because it was not long enough to fit into the tatami weaving machine.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsTango Chirimen is a silk fabric made in the Tango region of Kyoto Prefecture. Its unique feature is the unique unevenness on the surface of the fabric, known as "shibo," which gives it the characteristic of being flexible and wrinkle-resistant. It is mainly used as a fabric for kimonos, and is also suitable for dyeing techniques such as Yuzen dyeing. In addition, the fabric used this time is extremely thin, so it responds instantly to even the slightest air movement.Taking these characteristics into consideration, we replaced the dyeing technique with modern projection mapping to express movement.
Rush grass used this time was grown at my father's parents' house. When I visited the tatami mat factory at my parents' house two years ago, I saw a large amount of rush grass lying on the floor and wondered about it. I heard that it was going to be incinerated, and I was concerned about the CO2 generated by incineration, the cost of disposal, and environmental destruction. Of course, I understand that my personal activities like this have no impact on the global environment, but I thought it would be good if people could understand it a little through "The Chakai". After all, the purpose of the tea ceremony is not to drink tea, but to have a conversation through the act.
This was largely due to the efforts of the video team, Swag, and the developer of this system, Mr. Tokumoto, a Kyoto Prefecture employee. Without them, this project would not have been successful. What we can do as designers is to direct the content and image of the video. I think that this video was able to fuse a very modern system with the traditional element of tea ceremony by giving it a Japanese image but not using Japanese techniques.
The space of a teahouse is extremely spiritual, and I believe there is a lot of freedom in its shape and materials. A typical teahouse is made of wood, soil, paper, and tatami (rush grass), but as long as the spirit is correct, these could be replaced with modern materials and it would still work.At "The Chakai," we actually made tea. Cup after cup. We made tea carefully for each and every guest. We were particular about the type of tea and sweets. It was the greatest joy to hear guests say "it's delicious," and it was a truly blissful moment to see their smiles. During these 10 days, we felt like we were being entertained by the guests, even though we were the ones providing the hospitality.
I had always wanted to design a teahouse, but many ideas had already been made, and I thought it would be impossible to create something new. Then, I saw it at an exhibition held in Tokyo where Kyoto Prefecture was exhibiting, and that was the beginning of this project. I instantly thought it was an interesting technology. However, at that time I had not yet connected it to a teahouse, but I had asked to use it in some way. A few months later, when I was thinking about a teahouse again, I remembered this technology. There is already technology to project images onto fabric, but a space in which the images change interactively in sync with the flow of air and people's movements is truly connected to modern "OMOTENASHI."
Our main work is interior design and bespoke kitchen design. We always work with many collaborating companies. We asked the creative team at SWAG Co., Ltd. to create the video. They have experience in many excellent projection mapping projects in Japan.We asked the plywood flooring company, which we use for the kitchen surface materials, to make the flooring. We asked a woodworking shop that we work with on a bespoke kitchen project to make the whole project. In other words, it was completed by bringing together the advanced skills of our colleagues, who are connected to us both professionally and emotionally on a daily basis.
It's fair to say that Japanese architecture has matured thanks to the work of many excellent architects. Therefore, Japanese architecture will not change as a result of this project.On the other hand, I think that the Japanese tea ceremony is, with some exceptions, a closed society. This is not in a bad sense, but rather that traditions are properly respected and passed on to future generations. Unfortunately, we are not tea ceremony professionals. Perhaps this is why we have been able to be so free. We had a professor from the Omotesenke school look at "THE CHAKAI," and he said, "This is fine. There is meaning in this free thinking."
I believe that the tea ceremony is an extremely spiritual act. That is why the tea room needs to be segmented from the space outside the tea room.In Japan, there is a word called "awai." In tea ceremony, this word refers to the space between inside and outside, between the guest and the host, and the time spent together in the space of the tea room. In this "awai," emotions change, are nurtured, and are cherished in our culture. The Tango Chirimen that permeates the footage in this video truly symbolizes this "awai."
When I first saw this patented technology, I didn't think it was very good. After that, we did a projection experiment before producing the video, and I think that was the first time that all the members were able to confirm the direction of this project. After that, the work was easy. While the video team was working, I arranged the location of the projector, the distance between the projector and the fabric, the position of the sensor and the wiring of the system, and the relationship with the exhibition venue, one by one.
That's right. In Japan, we still tend to focus on designed objects. I think design is the act itself. As a result, designed spaces and objects are created, but at the same time, experiences are created. As digital expression advances, physical objects may no longer be important. What is needed at that time is an "experience," and I believe that this is design.
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