Treasures of the Forest
The student competition Koja/Koya is part of the event Treasures of the Forest about the forest as a resource, organised in Tokyo, Japan in March 2016.
In collaboration between Sveriges Arkitekter (Swedish Association of Architects – SAA) and Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) architecture students from both countries have been invited to participate in an idea contest about what happens when one of the treasures of the forest inhabits the city.
The task was to present a concept for a fully wooden Koja/Koya, in order to address the question: How can a manmade commonplace – a Koja/Koya – show the potential of the treasures of the forest?
The main idea is to explain how a Koja/Koya can contribute to the city and what happens when the Koja/Koya is placed in an urban context.
The Koja/Koya should only be constructed of wood. The students were asked to describe how the Koja/Koya relate to the surrounding and how it is supposed to be used and by whom. They should also, in their proposal, explain the construction of the Koja/Koya and how it affects its setting and context.
There were 21 proposals from both countries and JIA and SA formed the jury group to access presentations with cross-over manner, the Japanese jury assessed the 16 competition entries from Sweden, and the Swedish jury the 5 competition entries from Japan.
The criteria were broad – from the “Quality of architectural design” to “Principle of sustainability” – but the main point accentuated by both associations is the open question “how can the treasures of the forest become a new typology in an urban context within the dense city centre?”.
Swedish jury:
- Jonas Elding, arkitekt SAR/MSA, Elding Oscarson architects
- Erik Persson, arkitekt MSA, General Architecture architects
- Sandra Frank, Chief Marketing Officer and Member – Board of directors, Folkhem
- Susanne Runestam, General Director Swedish Wood building Council, Träbyggnadskansliet
- Erik Hjärtfors, Lövsjö Loghouse, representant utsedd av Nationella skogsprogrammet.
The jury in Stockholm, Sweden has decided to give the first prize to:
the proposal ”The Proliferating hut – a Dynamic Reminder of Life”, by the students Ittidej Lirapirom and Luca Marulli, full-time students at University of Tokyo, M1, Obuchi Lab.
Japanese jury:
- JIA president: Taro ASHIHARA
- JIA Kantokoushinetsu chapter president: Yutaka UENAMI
- JIA international committee chairman: Sumito TAKASHINA
- Key note speaker at the symposium: Dr. Naoto ANDO, professor emeritus of Tokyo University
- JIA international committee member: Motoki KOSAKA
- Magnus ROBACH, The Ambassador of Sweden to Japan.
The jury in Tokyo, Japan has decided to give the first prize to:
“A roof”
Arvid Carltröm and Axel Jogefalk, KTH, Stockholm
The Jury in Tokyo and the Jury in Sweden also decided to give 4 special mentions, for well developed projects with considerate detail and imaginative concepts:
”Izakoya”, by Petter Holm, Exchange student from KTH, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
“A light memory” by Agnes Gidenstam, Chalmers
“Back to the roots” by Malin Bjärkstedt och Lisa Malers, UMA – Umeå
“The Anthill / please build freely” by Daniel Karlsson and Erik Widell, Chalmers.