Creating a “circulating society” through furniture making

I wonder…do you know which mountain of what country the wood of your furniture came from?
Today, forests approximately one-third the size of Japan (13 million ha) are disappearing every year across the globe.
The self-sufficiency ratio of wood among the Japanese, a major consumer of wood, is a mere 20%. Meanwhile, the forestry industry has been struggling for years in stagnation in this country which is one of the world’s largest forest nations. In this country, what seems like lush forest at a glance are in reality, forests that are left abandoned, suffering in ill health.

We live in a society that gives birth to a multitude of disposable products that are consumed and thrown away.
The world of furniture is no different and it has become the norm to use them as a temporary fill-in to be discarded simply because its user has become “tired of it.”
Today’s world is one in which people have not an inkling of guilt in throwing away still-decent furniture that has been built using wood that took dozens of years to grow.

Today, we are facing a major turning point.
Are we going to continue with this 20th century lifestyle of mass production and mass consumption?
Or, are we going to steer toward our ideal so that we can pass on a sustainable “circulating society” to the generation of tomorrow?

Won’t you think with us and act with us through furniture making to create a mechanism for a better world?

We will be awaiting your brilliant ideas.



Purpose of the Competition

Build furniture using Japanese wood
Think of an affluent life 100 years into the future

The wood that we use is a gift bestowed upon us by nature, which has spent nearly 100 years nurturing that tree. As the saying “one tree generation, three generation of men” goes, it takes three generation of men for one tree to grow for 100 years. When a tree is planted, it is done so with thoughts extending three generations beyond from grandparent to grandchild. That is the forest’s time.
One hundred years may seem light-years away but it is not so difficult to imagine when you think of what it will be like when your grandchild reaches your age. What kind of lifestyle will your grandchild be living 100 years from now? What will he be thinking? What will he want?

No matter how the seasons change, there is always a house, a family, and furniture at the center of everyone’s lives. Furniture, which exists at the center of a close family atmosphere, is a family magnet and a baton passed on from child to parent and from child to grandchild.

We want to build furniture that thinks 100 years into the future, just like a tree being planted with thoughts extending 100 years into time. We want to build furniture that lasts 100 years and passed on for 100 years. We want to build furniture that is not just a “thing.” We want to build furniture that brings happiness to people, vigor to production sites, and abundance to forests and nature the more it is made and the more it is used. That’s the kind of furniture we want to build.

We are seeking ideas on “furniture as a tool of life” using Japanese wood and bringing happiness to people 100 years into the future. In addition to furniture design, we will also accept proposals on “mechanisms that will bring affluence 100 years into the future through furniture making.”

Japanese wood x life one hundred years from now x furniture= ???
We are waiting for your answer.


Guidelines for Applicants

Qualifications: None (Individuals, organizations, and companies are eligible to enter)
Number of works accepted: There is no limit to the number of entries.
Entry fee: 3,000 yen per entry
Grand Prix Award: (1 winner) Developed as product
Oak Village Award: (1 winner) Developed as product
Judge’s Special Award: (Multiple winners) 50,000 yen
Task: Build furniture that will bring health to Japan’s forests and natural environment, vigor to the production sites, and happiness to people 100 years into the future.

Entry Rules and Method:
Preliminary Selection
Submit data (JPEG or PDF) containing the specified content laid out in A3 size format.
Lay out the title (name), concept, and perspective/ illustration.
One page per entry.

＊We will also accept ideas on business models and concepts that will enable “furniture making that will bring health to Japan’s forests and natural environment, vigor to the production sites, and happiness to people 100 years into the future.” In this case, please submit an overview of the plan and a business plan document (A4 size paper.)

Secondary Selection
Submit a concept sheet, detailed drawing, and model or prototype.
※Those seeking entry for “concepts” and “business model” alone are required to submit details of the plan and a business plan document.

Submit To/Contact:
100 Year Furniture Competition Head Office (Inside WISE·WISE Inc.)
5-12-7 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0001
TEL 03-5467-7001
FAX 03-5467-7002
E-mail: press@wisewise.com

Judges (In Japanese alphabetical order, titles abbreviated)

• Tadashi Inamoto (Oak Village, President)
• Takekazu Inoue (The Japan Research Institute Ltd., Senior Consultant)
• Soichi Ueda (Think the Earth Project, Producer)
• Fumio Enomoto (Fumio Enomoto Atelier, Professor of Komazawa Women’s University)
• Junko Owada (General Incorporated Association, LOHAS Business Alliance, Joint Representative)
• Makoto Koizumi (Koizumi Studio, Representative, Professor of Musashino Art University)
• Taku Satoh (Taku Satoh Design Office, Representative)
• Shinichi Takemura (Earth Literacy Program, Representative, Professor of Kyoto University of Art and Design)
• Kenichi Nakazawa (Environmental NGO, FoE Japan, Environmental Director)
• Yukio Hashimoto (hashimoto yukio design studio, Designer)
• Keiichiro Fujisaki (Design Journalist, Tokyo University of the Arts, Associate Professor)
• Setsu Mori (alterna, President)
• Taketoshi Sato (WISE·WISE Inc., CEO) *Executive Judge

Judging Standards: Preliminary selection will be based on data and the secondary selection based on screening of produced work.

Result Announcement
Preliminary data selection: Early-June 2011
Secondary product selection: Mid-November 2011

Exhibition
Works that pass the preliminary selection will be announced at the “WISE·WISE Omotesando Branch” and the corporate homepage from early-June 2011.
Works that pass the secondary selection will be put on exhibit at the “WISE·WISE Omotesando Branch” and the corporate homepage from early September and advanced to the final selection in early-November.
Prototype created by the winner of the Grand Prix Award and Judge’s Special Award will be displayed at the “WISE·WISE Omotesando Branch” and the corporate homepage from mid-November 2011. (Work by the Grand Prix winner will be developed as a product.)

Schedule
Entry term:
November 1 (Mon) to May 31 (Thurs), 2011
Preliminary selection: Submission period
March 1 (Tues) to May 31 (Tues), 2011
Secondary selection: Submission period
Early-June to Aug. 31 (Wed), 2011
Winner announcement
Mid-November, 2011

Sponsor: WISE·WISE Inc.
Co-sponsor: Oak Village

Product development of the Grand Prix winner and Oak Village Award winner
Winner of the Grand Prix winner will be developed as a product and sold by WISE·WISE Inc.
The Grand Prix winner will also receive a royalty contract with WISE·WISE Inc.

The winner of the Oak Village Award will be developed as a product and sold by Oak Village.
The Oak Village Award winner will also receive a royalty contract with Oak Village.

Reminders
• Entries are limited to new unreleased work.
“Unreleased work” refers to works that are “not developed as a product” or “publicized on the Internet, newspapers, magazines, exhibitions and other design competitions” at the time of selection announcement for this competition. However, announcement of student work in student exhibitions will be considered unreleased.
• Please refrain from entering the work in other design competitions coinciding with the term of this competition.
• Please note that entered works will not be returned.
• Rights to announce the entered works belong to the sponsors.
• The award may be withdrawn even after announcement in the event similar works already in the public area or violation of intellectual property rights belonging to a third party are discovered. There may be no winners or development of the prototype or product may be cancelled in some cases.
• Names and corporate name of winners and candidates who pass the preliminary judging will be announced when the works are exhibited.
• Personal information of the applicant will be managed in strict confidence and will be used only for contacting the applicant for operational purposes and sending documents and other materials.