enzo mari wins japan design award 2009

italian designer enzo mari received the award of the japan chamber of commerce and industry for his HIDA chairs, the series was displayed at the good design exhibition at design hub in tokyo midtown, during the tokyo design week 09.

in thinking about sustainable manufacturing in japan, the designer focused on the material of japanese cedar, whose scientific name cryptomeria japonica means ‘hidden asset of japan.’  to give soft cedar lumber a hardness suited to furniture, instead of cutting a compression technology has been adopted that also has attracted attention as a technique for molding three-dimensional items of uneven thickness, in addition, design of furniture made using this technology has been entrusted to enzo mari. mari, who considers a design project to be ‘an act for creating an ideal society,’ appreciated the significance of this joint effort and designed a chair with contemporary interpretations and expressions while being based on japanese traditions. the design also utilizes the knots commonly found in lumber from forest-thinning projects, considering it important to respect them for their beauty.

HIDA chairs (named arda, arno, po, naviglio, piave, tevere)

the eco-friendly furniture is produced by hida sangyo co.ltd

made of compressed sugi wood and steel, crafted from sugi wood,
sugi, also known as japanese cedar is a sustainable material, found exclusive in the hida-takayama region of japan. 
image © designboom

enzo mari sitting in a HIDA chair,
designboom featured the collection already in 2005 — see here

the good design awards, organized by the japan industrial design promotion organization (JIDPO), is a comprehensive program for the evaluation and encouragement of design. the JIDPO was established in 1957 by the then ministry of international trade and industry (the current ministry of economy, trade and industry). since then, the good design award has been given for outstanding designs for more than 50 years in the pursuit of prosperous lives and industrial development.  approximately 35,000 good design awards have been given in continuing these efforts.  website: good design awards