Mirai Convenience Store, the Gold architecture winning from Sky Design Awards 2021

Great design creates the power of now and the future.

2021 Sky Design Awards Gold-winning architecture was designed by KOKUYO Co., Ltd. + GEN Architects Inc. This project is located in the central of Shikoku, Kito, and Kito is the district of Tokushima Prefecture. This rare area rich in natural beauty has been called the "Tibet of Shikoku." However, like other rural communities, it is evolving into a marginal settlement, where only about 1000 people live in an area the same size as a Tokyo ward. Therefore, the private firm KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS has launched a project intended to revive this tiny village of Kito using the power of culture, promote and provide the wealthiest culture and conveniences services.

In addition, since there was no supermarket near the village, it was a food desert where people had to drive two hours to go shopping. In considering the future of this settlement, the team thought that the place was needed to become a lifeline for the village and help raise children and connect villagers with visitors.

This project is named "Mirai Convenience Store." The name "Mirai" ("future" in Japanese) was inspired by manga artist Osamu Tezuka's term for children: "miraijin" ("people of the future"). It reflects the hope that this facility will serve as a place where children in the area can grow and learn. Kito is also the first place in Japan where grafting of yuzu citrus trees has been conducted successfully.

Mirai Convenience Store was built to serve as the hub of this project. This project also includes CAMP PARK KITO, which is already complete, and the planned MANGA LIBRARY HOTEL intended to serve as sacred ground for manga fans and turn a disused school into a facility for hands-on agricultural experiences is also designed.

Designed by KOKUYO Co., Ltd. + GEN Architects Inc.

Architectural, interior, & landscape design:

KOKUYO Co.,Ltd. Wataru Sato, Kouji Aoki, Tomoya Kuroo, Makiko Suga

GEN Architects Inc. Youhei Mitsuishi, Takuma Kanou

Lighting design：HKL&D Hisaaki Kato

Equipment design：Norimasa Harada

Produce & Planning: KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS

Creative direction：Keisuke Unosawa