About the 5th year of Reiwa Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Awards

Our Executive Creative Director, Ryu Kosaka, received the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for Distinguished Service in Construction Projects in 2023. The reason for the award was "His diligent work in design administration supervision for many years, as well as his contributions to the development of the industry as an officer of related organizations."

Below are Kosaka's comments on receiving the award.

Receiving the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Commendation (Construction Business Related Merit)

In 2001, our company joined the Japan Commercial environmental design Association (JCD), but after receiving a phone call from then-chairman Naoki Iijima, who said, "We want you to broaden your horizons beyond the confines of NOMURA Co.,Ltd. and also focus on nurturing young talent in the industry," we began our full-fledged activities in concept design industry.
 

In my current work, I have expanded my business as a spatial concept design by winning awards, winning international competitions, and establishing AND. I also served as a judge for the JCD Awards, a stepping stone for young designers, for 10 years, and in 2014 I was appointed Vice Chairman of the JCD. I was also actively involved in the establishment of the Japan Spatial concept design Awards to further improve the status of the industry.
Since 2016, I have been working as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo, sharing the "fascination of spatial concept design" with students.
These activities were recognized with this year's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award.

We are honored that our creative work, which focuses on "the appeal of spatial concept design" and "how spaces can bring happiness to society and people," has been recognized, and we hope that this will lead to further advancements in our social standing.

Ryu Kosaka