AXIS Design Center, the lifestyle and design promotion hub from AXIS Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Nobuo Asaka), was awarded the GOOD DESIGN LONG LIFE DESIGN AWARD 2022 (Organizer: The Japan Institute of Design Promotion).
About AXIS Design Center
The center first opened on September 23, 1981 in Iigura Katamachi, Roppongi, Tokyo. It is Japan's first privately owned design center and is affectionately known as the AXIS Building. It promotes design through Design Magazine "AXIS", AXIS Gallery, and its lineup of directly managed stores--like Living Motif and Le Garage--and stores with design in mind. Having celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding in 2021, it continues to spread the knowledge it has accumulated over the years throughout society and, at the same time, asks what design really means.
Why It Won (Judges' Comments)
I can't forget the shock I felt when AXIS opened in 1981. When I was studying abroad in London in the late 1970s, I made many friends who were studying architecture, design, and fine arts. They were a huge inspiration and motivated me to study those kinds of art on my own. As soon as I returned to Japan, I discovered AXIS right when it opened. Its beautiful space incorporated different aspects of art, and I absorbed every part of it from a fresh perspective. AXIS has always been true to its values of owning media, promoting rich lifestyle ideas through its shops, and spreading bilingual content globally through exhibitions. I sincerely hope that it will continue to build new values that fascinate the next generation and spread them throughout the world as a base and activity hub that advocates design and lifestyle ideas.
- Continually questioning the significance of design -
Axis Design Center opened in 1981 with the theme of design that goes beyond mere style, always thinking about future cultures and lifestyles and environments centered around people. The building itself is considered part of the act of design. It is neutral, not overly assertive, with the visitors, shops, and the business itself with its social significance all playing a leading role. Since its founding, it has collaborated with various shops that have design in mind and developed various projects to promote design, from Design Magazine "AXIS" and special exhibitions at AXIS Gallery to directly managed stores.
First issue of Design Magazine AXIS (left) and the latest issue
Shop and showroom inside AXIS Design Center
- Special exhibitions that charge ahead of the times -
AXIS Gallery was created with a strong desire to elevate life and design on a cultural level. At the time of its establishment, Ettore Sottsass, a standard bearer of postmodernism known for his cutting-edge projects--such as the design group the Menphis--was invited to host the center's first special exhibition, introducing the concept of postmodernism to Japan. Since then, it has continued to promote design for the current and future society, with exhibitions such as "Richard Saul Wurman: Information Architecture," featuring a pioneer of information design; "Super Normal," with guest curators Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison; and "imagine another life through the products," which spread the idea of social design.
"Ettore Sottsass" exhibition
"Richard Saul Wurman: Information Architecture" exhibition
AXIS will continue to help improve people's lifestyles and society through design.
The LONG LIFE DESIGN AWARD has been developed for many years through dialogue with manufacturers and users, and society, and is an award for honoring designs that will become the cornerstone of living and society and that are desired to continue to play the role in the future and designs with the power to continue to be a standard beyond value that changes with the times.
https://www.g-mark.org/activity/2022/longlife.html?locale=en
Award-related exhibitions
■My Favorite Design 2022
Schedule: October 7 - November 6
■GOOD DESIGN LONG LIFE DESIGN EXHIBITION 2022
Schedule: November 12 - December 1
Venue: GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi
https://www.g-mark.org/gdm/index.html