Press Release

April 27, 2015
LIXIL JS Foundation“The 5th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition” Seeking and Reviewing
Next-generation Sustainable Housing Technology“INVERTED HOUSE”
by The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway) Wins Top Prize~ The winning project is scheduled to be completed on the site of Memu Meadows in Taiki-cho,
Hokkaido in November 2015 ~The LIXIL JS Foundation (located in Koto-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Yoichiro Ushioda), whichfacilitates surveys and research related to the housing and building materials industries as well as
supporting the development of human resources, conducted the Open Final Screening for the 5th
LIXIL International University Architectural Competition at the Keidanren Kaikan (Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo) on April 21, 2015 (Tue). The purpose of the competition is to seek and review
next-generation sustainable housing technology and communicating that technology to global society.
The top three universities chosen from twelve participating universities in eleven countries gave
presentations, and INVERTED HOUSE by The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway) was
selected as the winner.

Group photo

The Oslo School of Architecture and Design
INVERTED HOUSE

During the Open Final Screening, a heated discussion occurred between head of jury, Kengo
Kuma (Architect / Professor, the University of Tokyo) and jurors, Tomonari Yashiro (Professor,
Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo / Vice President, the University ofTokyo), and Dana Buntrock (Architect, Department of Architecture, University of California,
Berkeley). The theme of the 5th competition was “House for Enjoying the Harsh Cold.” In thetown, where the winters are cold and isolated, the contestants were called on to propose facilities
that allow people to enjoy even the cold and severity of nature in a positive way by leveraging
Taiki-cho’s beautiful water and greenery.
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design’s INVERTED HOUSE was given the top prize inrecognition of its idea of four spaces created by the walls placed in cruciform varying theircharacteristics with the seasons and its keen insight into natural phenomena, including its
consideration even to the way of making a shadow or piling up the snow, as well as its
successful architectural approach in which the four spaces individually designed by teammembers are placed in each section divided by the walls.
In his general comments, head of jury, Kengo Kuma said, “Though this year’s competition was
conducted based on an unprecedentedly challenging theme: ‘House for Enjoying the Harsh
Cold,’ the winning project presented an even more challenging and bold proposal: ‘Enjoy asemi-outdoor life in Hokkaido.’ I believe that it resulted in being able to send a strong message
to the world.” At the award ceremony, Ms. Laura Cristea from the winning team at The Oslo
School of Architecture and Design commented, “We are proud of this result. The process up to
this point has been extremely enjoyable. The real project has yet to start and we are very much
excited about it.”With support from Kengo Kuma & Associates, the team will arrive at a final design for“INVERTED HOUSE,” and the project is scheduled to be built in November 2015 on a site atMemu Meadows, located in Taiki-cho, Hokkaido. Please see the attached document for an
overview of the competition.

＜Reference Information＞≪Attached Document≫■List of Winning Works
・Top Prize

・Award of Excellence（2 works）

The Oslo School of Architecture and
Design (Norway)
INVERTED HOUSE

Chulalongkorn University(Thailand)
WEAR-HOUSE

Ecole Nationale Supérieured'Architecture de Paris La Villette (France)
PASSAGETHERMAL DELIGHT■Overview of the 5th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition
1． Participating universities: 12 universities in 11 countries* The three universities marked with ◎ proceed to the Open Final Screening held on April 21.
◎Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris La Villette (France)
Politecnico of Milan (Italy)◎The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway)
Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (Spain)
Istanbul Technical University (Turkey)
Yale University (USA)
Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Seoul National University (South Korea)◎Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan)
Tokyo University of Agriculture (Japan)
2． Judging method
Twelve universities in eleven countries were invited to submit proposals for a next-generation, sustainable
house designed for a cold region. Three entrants were then selected in the first screening (based on
documents submitted). The top prize winner was subsequently chosen in the Open Final Screening.
3．Jury:Kengo Kuma (Architect / Professor, the University of Tokyo)
Tomonari Yashiro (Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo / Vice President, theUniversity of Tokyo)
Dana Buntrock (Architect, Department of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley)
4． Prizes
Top prize (one work): $15,000 (USD; including design fee)Award of Excellence (two works): $3,000*Top-prize work will be constructed on a site in Memu Meadows (Taiki-cho, Hokkaido).

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■ Building schedule for “INVERTED HOUSE”, the top prize work by The Oslo School ofArchitecture and Design (2015)
May-June: Working drawing
July: Cost estimates, etc.
Aug: Construction begins
Sept-Oct: Construction continues
Nov: Construction set to be completed■ Overview of Facility
Name: Memu Meadows
Location: 158-1 Memu, Taiko-cho, Hiro-gun, Obihiro, Hokkaido
Owner: LIXIL JS Foundation 2-1-1 Ojima, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 136-8535
Site area: App. 184,000 square meters
Main facilities: Experimental house “Même”, “Mock-up of Multiple floor Bamboo House”, “A recipe to live”,“BARN HOUSE”, “HORIZON HOUSE”, “NEST WE GROW”, Multipurpose Facility, Conference Pavilion,
Residence 1L and 1R (accommodation for researchers), two log houses (accommodation for researchers),
fitness center, restaurant, Administration Wing, etc.
Official website: http://www.lixiljsfound.com/

Contact Information
Executive Secretariat of 5th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition
KYODO PUBLIC RELATIONS Co., Ltd.
Futa Tsuji , +81(0)3-3571-5326
lixil_pr@kyodo-pr.co.jp

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