Press Release
Uds Ltd. Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Taneya Club Harie Retail Store in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Uds Ltd. acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Taneya Club Harie Retail Store by Uds Ltd.. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Silver A' Design Award Explained
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Taneya Club Harie Retail Store
Taneya Club Harie is a retail store located inside a department store in Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan. The store brings together traditional Japanese confectionery brand Taneya and Western patisserie brand Club Harie in one space. The design follows a single concept of strata, expressing layers of time. Ceilings and fixtures are formed by layering precisely cut wooden panels shifted by millimeters. Solid chestnut wood and lacquer mark the Taneya side, while light laminated plywood marks the Club Harie side. The flowing curves guide visitors deeper into the store and ease congestion.
About Uds Ltd.
UDS is a design firm dedicated to creating sustainable, fun and lively urban spaces by pursuing an optimum balance of social responsibility and business profitability. We are a one-stop provider of business planning, architectural design, and commercial operation services, all under one roof. Whatever the use or function, every space we create is truly unique to the community it serves, and we achieve it by integrating all aspects of the physical environment.
Award Record
This recognition makes Uds Ltd. a winner of 13 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2025 - 2026 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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/174322
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/174322
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!174322
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/301823
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://x.gd/Dk82M
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Taneya Club Harie Retail Store
- Function
- Retail Store
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Saddle Brown, Black, Sienna and Peru
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Uds Ltd.
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #174322
Credits
- Team
- Norito Nakahara / UDS Ltd. and Nodoka Ide / UDS Ltd.
- Image Credits
- Nacasa & Partners, 2023 Optional; Nacasa & Partners, 2023
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This is the design project for the Taneya Club Harie store at the Kintetsu Kusatsu department store. The uniqueness of this design lies in its function not merely as a commercial space, but as an art installation that tells the brand's philosophy. Under the single, powerful concept of "strata," it seamlessly connects the contrasting worlds of "tradition" and "innovation," inviting visitors into an immersive brand experience. In a department store environment lined with homogenous stores, it creates overwhelming originality and a memorable experiential value.
- Inspiration
- The starting point was the question of how to express and fuse two distinct identities-traditional Japanese confectionery "Taneya" and innovative Western patisserie "Club Harie"-within a single space. The source of inspiration was the magnificent "strata" created by nature. We aimed to express the brand's accumulated history and its vision for the future throughout the entire space with the poetic concept of the layering of time.
- Research
- This is a design research project aimed at creating new brand value and improving operational efficiency within a department store environment. First, we analyzed the history and philosophy of "Taneya" and "Club Harie" to extract the essence of the brands. Next, we identified the lack of memorable experiences and inefficient customer flow in typical commercial spaces as key issues. As a result, we developed the "strata" concept, where form and function are inextricably linked, successfully enhancing customer circulation while optimizing staff workflow to create a memorable experience beyond mere convenience.
- Challenge
- The greatest challenge was to harmonize the two conflicting brand identities of "tradition" and "innovation" within a single space while enhancing the appeal of both. Another significant technical challenge was realizing the massive and complex organic form with extremely high precision under budget and time constraints. To overcome this, we achieved it by meticulously drawing all complex curved surfaces with millimeter accuracy and collaborating closely with the constructor.
- Realization and Technology
- This organic and complex form was realized by drawing all curved surfaces with millimeter precision and making repeated adjustments. The unique texture of the ceilings and fixtures is created by layering precisely cut wooden panels, shifting them by millimeters. For materials, solid chestnut wood and lacquer were used for the Taneya side, while light laminated plywood was used for the Club Harie side to accentuate their respective identities.
- Operation and Interaction
- This space interacts with the movement of its visitors. The flowing curves of the fixtures and ceiling, like strata, naturally guide customer flow deep into the store, easing congestion and creating an enjoyable sense of exploration. This allows people to unconsciously explore the worlds of both brands and interact more deeply with them. It provides a more intuitive and comfortable shopping experience than a conventional grid-like store layout.
- Project Duration and Location
- Timeline: The design was submitted to a competition in 2021. Construction began in April 2023, and the store opened to the public in June 2023. Location: Inside Kintetsu Department Store, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan
- Specifications
- Total Floor Area: 285.28sqm
- Keywords
- RetailDesign, InteriorDesign, Conceptual, WoodInterior, Patisserie, FlagshipStore, Tradition, Innovation, Sustainability
