Prof. Nuno Soares wins Pionner Award for Green Architecture in Japan with Toi San Public Toilet project
Prof. Nuno Soares wins Pionner Award for Green Architecture in Japan with Toi San Public Toilet project
12
Jul
12/07/2024
Head of the Department of Architecture and Design, Prof. Nuno Soares, has received a Pionner Award for Green Architecture at the 6th Japan International Pioneer Design Award for the Toi San Public Toilet project, commissioned by the Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau.
Prof. Nuno Soares, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design and Porgramme Coordinator for the Bachelor of Architectural Studies and Master of Architecture at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of USJ, has received a Pionner Award for Green Architecture with the Toi San Public Toilet project at the 6th Japan International Pioneer Design Award (Japan IDPA AWARD). Toi San Public Toilet project was designed by Prof. Nuno Soares and his architecture office – Urban Practice.
Toi San Public Toilet’s concept is inspired by the spontaneous vegetation that sprouts from small cracks in walls around Macao. Commissioned by the Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau, the project is a radical redesign of an existing structure rooted in a small park located in the Toi San neighbourhood, a place that was filled with vegetable farms in the past.
The architectural language emphasises the connection with the context: the facades were deconstructed and reimagined as a dynamic precast concrete mosaic of 63 modular planters filled with plants and a green rooftop, providing over 100% green coverage to the building, cooling the interior space and blending with the adjacent park.
Placed where everyday life materializes in all forms, this site-specific prototype explores architecture as a vertical landscape, creating an innovative sustainable building and a 24-hour display of green through the planters’ distinctive lighting design, providing a harmonious atmosphere to those whose park became an indelible part of daily routine.
The Japan IDPA Award was established in 2018 in Tokyo aiming to recognise internationally renowned designers and design agencies while promoting cultural exchange and cooperation.
