Press Release
Jun Watanabe Is Honored with the Platinum A' Design Award for Arabica Riyadh Roastery Cafe in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Jun Watanabe of No.10 acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Platinum A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Arabica Riyadh Roastery Cafe by Jun Watanabe of No.10, designed for no.10, NOMURA Co., Ltd.. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Platinum A' Design Award
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
About Arabica Riyadh Roastery Cafe
Arabica Riyadh Roastery is a theater style cafe set in a renovated warehouse of about 885 square meters on two floors. A large custom roasting machine stands on a stage at the back of the store, framed by a bean cellar. The kitchen counter is placed where an orchestra pit would be, and the atrium above lets the sounds of the baristas carry through the space. The floor is lowered in front of the stage, while upper level seats offer views from above. White artificial marble, brick, perforated metal and painted surfaces add texture, and sheer curtains divide the box seats.
About No.10
Business DetailsNOMURA Co., Ltd.: Research, planning, consulting, design, layout, production, construction, operation and management in space creation. no.10: planning, consulting, design, and layout.
Award Record
This recognition makes Jun Watanabe of No.10 a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award
The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Typical entries include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. The awarded interior designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/interior
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/163450
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/163450
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!163450
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/336601
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Arabica Riyadh Roastery Cafe
- Function
- Cafe
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Silver, Gainsboro, Dark Gray, Rosy Brown and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- no.10, NOMURA Co., Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Jun Watanabe
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- No.10
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #163450
Credits
- Team
- Creative Director：Keita Aono and Designer：Jun Watanabe
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Like a theatre, the floor is lowered in front of the stage, with upper-level seating around it, so that the main stage can be seen from most seats. The store offers a variety of spatial experiences, with varying ceiling heights, including a low, calm seating area and an open atrium. The entrance staircase is designed at a height that allows the stage to be seen from the outside, as in a theatre, to heighten the sense of anticipation and attract customers.
- Inspiration
- The store is a theatre-style cafe in a renovated warehouse of approx. 900 square meters, with a custom-built giant roasting machine as the star attraction. The roasting machine is placed on a stage at the back of the store, surrounded by ARABICA’s iconic bean cellar. A kitchen counter is installed in the position of the orchestra pit, and the atrium above allows the pleasant sound of the barista to echo throughout the store. Visitors can enjoy the story of making coffee with all five senses.
- Research
- In order to make the cafe comfortable for Saudi Arabian people, we visited various local cafes and restaurants for research. Also, we interviewed franchise owners about the Saudi people and local culture. Based on the information obtained, we installed sheer curtains that take into account the distance between men and women, furniture shapes that make it easy to sit on, even in ethnic dress, and mirrors for personal grooming.
- Challenge
- The process of determining the viewpoints of each seating area was difficult. After verifying how the main stage would be presented from each seating area through drawings and renderings, the seating layout and the viewpoint height from each seat were determined. We also controlled the visibility inside and outside the store through the height difference by creating a staircase at the entrance and lowering only the area around the kitchen counter.
- Realization and Technology
- While unified in white, the color of ARABICA’s stores, the space expresses a deep white by providing variations in texture, such as artificial marble, brick, perforated metal, and flat painted surfaces. The floor is made of top-coated epoxy resin to achieve a clean, white, seamless floor. Indirect lighting was added to the ceiling in the atrium through perforated metal to create a top-light-like illumination.
- Operation and Interaction
- Variety of seats are available for various ways of enjoyment. Bench seats where you can watch the barista's performance right in front of you. Box seats on the ground floor where you can see the kitchen and the stage up close. On the first floor, box seats and counter seats are available for a bird's-eye view of the stage and kitchen. Seats for four near the window offers a cozy atmosphere with the sounds of the kitchen as background music.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started with a site visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2019. The design phase started immediately and was completed in November of the same year. Construction work started in October 2019 and was completed in May 2022. (It took a long time because of the Corona disaster.) The Store opened in May 2022.
- Specifications
- Store area 885 sqm with 2 floors. Ground floor ceiling height: 2650mm. First-floor ceiling height: 2450mm. Atrium ceiling height: 6500mm
- Keywords
- cafe, coffeeshop, Japanese, Japan, no__10, nomurakougeisha, ARABICA
