Key Screening Points

The Key Screening Points for Housing Works (Category 12 & 13)

In the screening of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD for housing works, the Judging Committee, based on the GOOD DESIGN AWARD’s basic perspectives and thoughts on design, focuses on the following points for housing works as spaces and places for people to live. In both categories, the expression of housing design and the originality and quality of planning are basic evaluation points.

Common key points for Category 12 & 13

Lifestyles

• Proposal for new lifestyles

• Proposal of universal values, and challenges for creating new value

Relationship with the local community

• Proposal and concern for cultural landscapes and regional landscapes

• Proposal related to the local economy and regional industries

• Solution of local and social issues

• Rediscovery and creation of local values

Proposal for space

• Creation of private spaces

• Creation of shared spaces and public spaces

Construction and supply perspectives

• Social appropriateness of material procurement, construction systems, and cost

The key points for Category 12

Detached house; Mixed-use house; Small-sized housing complex; Apartment house; Dormitory (total floor area under 1,000㎡, fewer than 15 dwelling units); Housing construction methods and structural systems; Services and systems related to detached houses and small-sized housing complexes/HEMS

Relationship with the local community

• Creation of communities

Utilization of land and assets

• Proposal for creative use of existing housing stock

• Creativity in land use

Qualities as commercialized housing

• Quality as a standard solution, and new proposals related to housing production

• Proposal for institutional issues

Qualities as customized housing

• Proposal for experimentation in individual solutions and possibilities for housing

• Proposal with universal applicability

• New ideas for aggregation

• New ideas for utilization

The key points for Category 13

Medium- to large-sized housing complex; Apartment house; Dormitory (total floor area of 1,000㎡ or more, 15 dwelling units or more); Residential district planning; Services and systems related to medium- to large-sized housing complexes/HEMS

Lifestyles

• Proposal for housing complexes as high-quality social capital that accommodates diverse lifestyles, age groups, and income levels

• Proposal for new community models sought in the present age and the spaces that contribute to them

• Creativity in land use

Relationship with the local community

• Proposal and concern for cultural landscapes and regional landscapes. In particular, for medium- to large-sized housing complexes, because of their large footprint in the city, consideration of physical elements such as layout and volume, as well as concern for and contribution to the area, are especially important.

• Proposal for the creation of new local communities within the area, and proposal for connecting with existing local communities in the area, as architecture that is not confined to the site but broadly contributes to the development of the local community.

Proposal for space

• Creation of high-quality living environments including external spaces

Research on technical aspects of housing complexes

• Proposal that provides leadership in urban planning

• New proposal for technologies and systems for housing complexes

• Proposal and concern for the protection and restoration of the natural environment

• Proposal and concern for the maintenance and functionality of housing complexes

• Proposal that develops ideas toward solving social issues through modeling and popularization

The Key Screening Points for Interior Space Works (Category 16)

In the screening of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD for interior space works, the Judging Committee focuses on the following points based on the GOOD DESIGN AWARD’s screening perspectives.

Attitude toward materials and attention to circulation

• Proposal that carefully engages with the characteristics of materials and their origins and formation processes

• Design that incorporates sustainable mechanisms with an eye toward circulation

• A way of thinking that creates unique spatial experiences by making full use of the texture of materials and the possibilities of processing

Quality and experience of space

• Creation of places that deepen understanding of diverse users and different cultural backgrounds and bring rich spatial experiences

• Careful qualitative consideration of the elements that compose space, such as materials, color, and light

Relationship with society and the local area

• Spatial composition that, while ensuring a sense of psychological security, is conscious of connections with the streetscape and the external environment

• Proposal for appropriate ways of openness, from private to public, according to the target users

Problem-solving and implementation process

• Design-based solutions to specific issues faced by users or society

• A way of thinking that creatively makes use of constraints and difficult conditions

• Efforts toward sustainability and reuse, including environmental consideration and the use of existing resources

Vision for the future

• Proposal that presents new forms of space and possibilities for use

• A stance that responds to changes in society and the environment and proactively shapes the future

• Spatial proposals that directly address difficult conditions such as disasters and environmental issues

Inheritance and regeneration of history and culture

• Protection, restoration, and reinterpretation of historic buildings, cultural heritage, industrial heritage, and the like

• Practices that vividly present the connection between the past and the present

The Key Screening Points for System and Service Works (Category 18)

In the screening of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD for system and service works, the Judging Committee conducts a comprehensive assessment based on the GOOD DESIGN AWARD’s screening perspectives from the following three axes.

• Novelty New value is created by utilizing new mechanisms and technologies. Alternatively, new solutions are designed to address existing problems.

• Functionality The designed functions should be rational and effectively presented to solve user problems.

• Usability The design should be easily visible, stress-free, and intuitive for all users.

In addition, during the screening process, the extent to which the entry has been implemented and provided in society at the time of application and screening, as well as the impact it is expected to have on society at present and in the future, will also be confirmed.

The Key Screening Points for Initiative and Activity Works (Category 19 & 20)

In the screening of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD for initiative and activity works, the Judging Committee, based on the GOOD DESIGN AWARD’s basic perspectives and thoughts on design, conducts a comprehensive evaluation along the following five axes. As a basis, the screening takes a multifaceted view of the background, process, purpose, and achieved results of the design of the entry.

When applying, please choose the category based on the entry’s primary purpose, and only after clearly determining why that category is the most appropriate. In particular, many applicants each year find it difficult to decide among Category 18 (System and Service), Category 19 (Initiative and Activity for Regional), and Category 20 (Initiative and Activity for the General Public). Before applying, please review past award-winning works and the key screening points for each category.

If the main value offered by the entry lies in a facility, product, service, or similar offering, and the initiative or activity is only one part of the overall process, please provide a clear explanation of the background and reasons for choosing this category in the Free Field on the entry site. If the character limit is not sufficient, please use the Supplemental Material section to provide further details.

Five axes of screening

1) Does it focus on the essential issue?

• Is the issue being addressed one that should be solved?

• What will the future look like after it is solved?

• What role does design play here?

2) Are the content and mechanisms inevitable?

• Is there a reason to confront the issue?

• Is there an inevitability that this design must be adopted?

3) Are the expression and outcomes (outputs) rational, clear, and aesthetically pleasing?

4) Are tangible results being achieved, is there potential for continued development, and can it generate a broader impact on the region or society?

• The specific impact it has had on the region or society after implementation

• Whether it is likely to continue and generate further ripple effects in the future

5) Is it persuasive enough to convince society as a whole that it is a good design?

Focus points regarding the “period” of the work

1. Newly started initiatives and activities (implemented for several months to 2 years)

• What kind of issue the project was launched to solve

• What kind of mechanism has been created, and what kind of approach has been taken

• What kinds of changes are beginning to emerge among those involved, their specific forms, and future potential

• If implemented only once, the specific actions taken afterward to sustain it

2. Ongoing initiatives and activities (implemented for 3 to 5 years)

• How much effect the specific activities carried out toward solving the issue have actually produced

• What kind of mechanism has been created

• What problems it has contributed to solving or what possibilities it has contributed to creating

• Whether it has led to changes in the behavior of the people involved (please explain from both quantitative and qualitative aspects)

3. Long-term initiatives and activities (implemented for 5 years or more)

• What kinds of activities the work has undertaken to date

• What kinds of mechanisms have been put in place to support its continued development

• Future outlook