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The façade of the Heisei Chishinkan Wing of the Kyoto National Museum in Kyoto, Japan, with lighting design by Iwai Lumimedia Design, took home an IALD Award of Merit, accepted in person by lighting designer Tatsuya Iwai, IALD. The Kyoto National Museum and Heisei Chishinkan Wing are east of Kyoto Station and across from the famous Sanjusangendo Temple, and display various national treasures of the province. The façade of the museum shines like a lamp with a paper shade; designers hoped to create a new nighttime landmark for Kyoto by the light of the latest LED. “The careful application of indirect illumination concealed into the architecture creates a pleasant space to experience and provides transparency from the exterior,” wrote one judge. The grand lobby of the space is covered with a glass curtain wall that shines from the interior like a paper- covered lantern. The designers wanted this luminousness to extend to the Jurassic stone wall, highlighting the richness of the material. “This is a single clean and clear gesture – and well realized,” another judge said. Inside the façade, lighting fixtures are mounted on the horizontal beam of the curtain wall. They light inside the curtain wall – upwards and downwards – while the stone wall is illuminated with linear wallwashers from the side of the skylight. Narrow angled spotlights illuminate the corners of the stone wall from a distance, ensuring an even wash of illumination. The combined effect allows light to flow out from the lobby, creating a dramatic nighttime experience outside. “In this example of minimalist architecture, there is a clear articulation of the forms and the background into the foreground,” another judge explained. “The lighting is extremely successful – it complements the architecture in exactly the same way. The location and cultural significance of the building style is also underlined by the striking large-scale lantern effect.”