We have some great news for you today!
The Food Hub Project won the Good Design Best 100 award at the 2018 Good Design Awards. (Category: Regional/Community Development)
Click here for the 2018 Good Design Award winners announcement website
We've all seen the "G Mark" somewhere. The Good Design Award, which uses this mark as the symbol of the award, was established in 1957 and is Japan's only comprehensive design evaluation and recommendation system. Many companies and designers from Japan and abroad participate every year, making it Japan's leading design award.
The Good Design Award has a strong image of Japanese manufacturing, but it has now become an international design award that receives submissions from 44 countries and regions around the world. In addition, in response to the trend of the times of "from things to experiences," designs other than products, such as local services and communication designs, are also subject to judging.
This year, there were approximately 4,800 applications, of which approximately 1,300 were awarded the Good Design Award. From these, the list was narrowed down to 100, which is the "Good Design Best 100," which was awarded to Food Hub this year!
*This award was awarded to four companies: Food Hub Project Co., Ltd., Kamiyama Town Hall, Kamiyama Tsunagu Public Corporation, and Monosus Co., Ltd.
The "breadth of activities" and "speed" were highly evaluated
This time, the Food Hub Project was entered in the category of "Regional/Community Building."
Name of the award recipient:
"Food Hub Project" - A local circulation system for agriculture and food culture
Winners:
・Food Hub Project Co., Ltd. (Tokushima Prefecture)
・Kamiyama Town Hall (Tokushima Prefecture)
・Kamiyama Tsunagu Public Corporation (Tokushima Prefecture)
・Monosus Co., Ltd. (Tokyo)
overview:
The Food Hub Project is an agricultural company that aims to connect local agriculture and food to the next generation with the motto of "local production for local food." It is being carried out in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, which has a population of about 5,500, in cooperation with industry, government, academia, and the local community.
Through a small food circulation system of "growing, making, eating, and connecting" aimed at people living in the town, regardless of age or gender, the town welcomes new farmers, runs a farm, operates a restaurant, bakery, and grocery store using the produce they grow, develops processed products using local ingredients, and conducts food education activities in collaboration with primary, junior high, and high schools.
We are not just involved in agriculture and the food service industry; we are also responsible for solving a wide range of issues in the local community, including solving local agricultural problems, preserving food culture, creating jobs, encouraging immigration, revitalizing the community, and educating the next generation.
producer:
・Taichi Manabe (Food Hub Project Co., Ltd.)
director:
・Keiko Hosoi (Food Hub Project Co., Ltd.)
・Kaoru Shiramomo (Kamiyama Tsunagu Public Corporation)
designer:
・Tsuyoshi Ishibashi ・Michio Tase (Plantago)
・Landscape Products Co.,Ltd.
・Shimazu Omiyoshi (Shimazu Omiyoshi Architectural Design Office)
(Clockwise from top left) Tsuyoshi Ishibashi, Masao Tase, Osato Shimazu, and Shinichiro Nakahara, CEO of Landscape Products
Comments from the judges
In the current trend of revitalizing local areas, there are many facilities that are built by municipalities and operated by private companies. This project is no different, with the town setting up a restaurant, bakery, and other facilities, but what was most appreciated about this project was the speed at which the business expanded.
It is extremely rare across the country for a group to expand their activities to this extent in just one year - they have launched an agricultural production corporation, revived native wheat, developed processed products, and held an event in Tokyo.
What is most important in regional revitalization is not the "budget" but the "purpose."
We highly praised the group for carrying out a series of independent activities toward their goal.
It's been over a year since the Food Hub was launched in earnest. It's been hectic, with one project after another, but it seems that this has been properly recognized. All the people involved, including the members who work hard on the ground every day, are very happy. Thank you so much!
From here we move on to the special award judging, and there are plenty of exhibition plans!
So, we have been delighted to receive the "Good Design Best 100" award, but the Good Design Festival is actually still on!
First, we will move on to the judging of the special awards (Good Design Grand Award, Good Design Gold Award, and Good Focus Award special awards will be selected from the Best 100 winners). There will also be a lot of special exhibitions and other developments. I will introduce them step by step.
1. Special Exhibition "My Choice" (October 3rd - November 4th)
http://www.g-mark.org/gdm/exhibition.html
First of all, the special exhibition begins today. It is a unique exhibition in which 86 judges from Japan and abroad who are active at the forefront of their fields will select "my favorite dish" from all the award-winning works and display it, separate from this year's Best 100. Judge Shunsuke Ishikawa selected the Food Hub Project as his "favorite dish"!
Comment from judge Shunsuke Ishikawa
The connection design is wonderful.The concept that everyone involved is both a creator and a consumer, the vision of "connecting small things with small things", and the creative leadership to make it a reality. As a result, they are able to "connect" a wide variety of people, things, and events.
It's a project I'm looking forward to in the long term.
This is a free event, so please come along.
My Choice - 2018 Good Design Award Jury Selection Period: Wednesday, October 3, 2018 to Sunday, November 4, 2018 11:00-19:00 / Open throughout the period Venue: GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi (1F New International Building, 3-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku)
Admission: Free
URL: http://www.g-mark.org/gdm/exhibition.html
2. Special Award Judging Meeting (10/10) *Open to the public
The special judging session will see the Best 100 winners make a presentation for the special award. This year, it will be open to the public for the first time. The Food Hub Project manager, Manabe, will give a presentation in four minutes. Just listening to the presentations by each winner will be inspiring.
The venue is Tokyo Midtown Conference. It will be a free-flowing event, so if you have time, please come along. (Free admission, registration required )
3. Award Celebration and Grand Prize Selection Ceremony (10/31)
After the Special Award Jury, the winners of each award (Good Design Grand Award, Good Design Gold Award, and Special Award for Good Focus Award) will be decided at the end of October. The Grand Award will be voted for at the awards celebration. I'm looking forward to it!
4. Award-winning exhibition "GOOD DESIGN Exhibition 2018"
(Oct. 31 - Nov. 4)
http://www.g-mark.org/gde/2018/index.html
On the same day as the Grand Prize winner is announced, the award-winning exhibition "GOOD DESIGN Exhibition 2018" will start. It is a big event that attracts more than 200,000 visitors every year over its five-day run. The venue design is by Torafu Architects , the graphic design by Yuma Harada ( UMA design/farm ), and the exhibition will be held in various locations around Tokyo Midtown.
It's overwhelming to see about 1,300 "good designs" on display. Please come and visit this special exhibition where you can discover and experience the "good" of 2018! (You might even see Food Hub members at the exhibition booth! Look forward to it!)
Award-winning exhibition "GOOD DESIGN Exhibition 2018"
Period: Wednesday, October 31, 2018 to Sunday, November 4, 2018, 11:00-20:00 / Open throughout the period Venue: Various locations in Tokyo Midtown Admission: 1,000 yen (valid for 5 days) / Free for university students and younger
URL: http://www.g-mark.org/gde/2018/index.html
5. Special Exhibition "GOOD DESIGN AWARD Kobe"
(11/23 - 12/24)
The last event is in Kansai. The "GOOD DESIGN AWARD KOBE" will be held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Kobe City's UNESCO Design City designation. Good Design Best 100 and Long Life Design Award will be exhibited.
This is the first time that a Good Design exhibition will be held in the Kansai region. The event will run for a month, so please come and visit if you are in the western part of Japan!
Special exhibition "GOOD DESIGN AWARD Kobe"
Date: November 23rd (Friday) – December 24th (Monday), 2018
Venue: Kobe Fashion Museum
There will be lots of exciting events until the end of the year.
The Food Hub Project has continued to take on new challenges this year. From our first crowdfunding challenge in the spring (which was successfully completed! Thank you to everyone who supported us), to this year's entry into and win of the Good Design Award, we are greatly encouraged by the support and appreciation we have received from so many people.
Above all, we would like to thank the people of Kamiyama Town in Tokushima Prefecture, the producers, and the people who support us on a daily basis - without any of these elements, we would not have been able to receive this award.
Once again, thank you very much!!
The next special awards judging session is fast approaching, but what will the results be? We will be watching with excitement, and we hope to announce the results on the Monosasu website. Please look forward to it!
Monosus Site Team
How to create good blood circulation with members and other people involved? How can we deepen our relationships to do better work? While thinking about this, we introduce the people and work of Monosus. The secretariat has approximately five members. I love eating a lot.