The interiors community recently crowned a winner that simultaneously honours history and casts a compelling vision for the future of work. The Symbolplus Office in Tokyo, a renovation masterwork by the eponymous Japanese studio, was named the Dezeen Awards 2025 Interiors Project of the Year, a prestigious accolade that recognises spaces of exceptional quality and impact. The project stood out from a diverse international field of thirteen category winners spanning global cities from Paris to Shanghai, uniting a global shift toward sustainable and profoundly human-centric design. The winning office’s success lies in its sophisticated duality—a space that feels both deeply grounded in traditional Japanese craftsmanship and yet possesses an unsettling, futuristic aesthetic. The judges celebrated this perfect merging of two worlds, marking it as a benchmark for contemporary sustainability and a design blueprint for spaces that actively nurture wellbeing by blurring the lines between the professional and the profoundly personal.
The New Workspace: Grounded and Galactic
The Symbolplus Office in Tokyo secured the top honour, also winning the Workplace Interior (Small) category, by presenting a radical vision for the small-scale professional environment. The renovation of the studio’s own workspace is rooted in a deep respect for Japanese material tradition, employing warm, textured earthen plaster and delicate Japanese paper throughout the fit-out. However, the application of these ancient materials is decidedly modern, creating an atmosphere that is, as the judges noted, both “grounded and futuristic.” The masterful use of natural elements provides a sense of quiet warmth and familiarity, an antidote to the often cold, clinical nature of modern offices.
The true genius of the design lies in its inherent flexibility. The space is animated by clever architectural interventions, notably sliding partitions and tilting panels that allow the internal configuration to be instantly reshaped to suit varied working needs, from focused individual tasks to large collaborative sessions. This physical dynamism contributes significantly to the wellbeing of its occupants, allowing the space to be forgotten as an office entirely. The master jury was highly impressed, praising the project for being “so on point” in terms of sustainable material use and understanding of context. They likened the interior to hints of Space Odyssey, an authentic yet futuristic expression that flawlessly marries contemporary design demands with timeless craft.
Beyond the Office Wall: Residential Reimagined
The awards celebrated the personal and often emotionally charged world of residential design, highlighting two contrasting but equally innovative approaches to domestic life. Winning Small Residential Interior of the Year, In a Park by L Architects is a highly personal flat redesign in Singapore. The project was driven by the homeowners’ expanding collection of plants, transforming the flat into a lush, vibrant green space. The jury praised the design for offering a “real living experience” that felt both cinematic and deeply nostalgic, particularly noting the effective tension between the raw brickwork and the softness of the living greenery, creating a unique sense of warmth.
The Large Residential Interior prize went to Studio Asaï for their Apartment in Bois de Boulogne in Paris. This 320-square-metre apartment overlooking the famous park showcases a sophisticated blending of original Parisian craftsmanship with bold, contemporary material choices. The French firm was lauded for being both experimental and brave, utilizing a rich colour palette and unique textures, including Foresso—a sustainable wood terrazzo made from recycled trees. The resulting interior possesses an unexpected character, which the jury described as retaining classic Parisian elegance while exhibiting a sense of British eccentricity in its harmonious, yet restrained, combination of colours and materials.
The New Hospitality Landscape: Layers of Experience
The hospitality sector winners showcased the importance of narrative and atmosphere in creating memorable public spaces. In Canada, Ste Marie won Restaurant Interior of the Year for Olia, Mimi and Va Caffè at Citizen on Jasper, a trio of interconnected dining venues. The success of the project lies in the material distinction of each space, offering three unique culinary experiences while maintaining a unified, timeless elegance. The judges appreciated the integrity and care evident in every design moment, ensuring the space will endure rather than quickly falling out of fashion.
Meanwhile, UNC Studio’s Challe in Kyoto, which won Bar and Cafe Interior of the Year, offered a lesson in powerful minimalism. The studio boldly transformed a traditional wooden house into a Japanese-Mexican fusion cafe, using minimal intervention to create a rich and powerful atmosphere. The design team was celebrated for weaving their pattern through the existing building fabric, achieving a masterclass in atmospheric creation. Extending this theme of preservation and fusion, Studio Aluc won Hotel and Short-Stay Interior for Nazuna Kyoto Higashihonganji, which saw a historic machiya residence transformed into a contemporary short-stay hotel. The project was praised for giving the old structure a new, resonant life, blending the warm, aged look of the past with contemporary needs, all while embracing the Japanese philosophy of celebrating darkness and natural, raw materials.
Craft and Commerce: The Retail and Large Workplace Stage
Interior design in commercial sectors demonstrated a strong return to material honesty and local storytelling. Universal Design Studio won Large Workplace Interior of the Year for Norton Folgate in London’s Spitalfields. This texturally rich project honors the area’s historical ties to craft, championing British makers through a meticulously curated space. The jury loved the juxtaposition of different materials—bespoke woven curtains, red oak joinery, and solid elm kitchen tables—and noted how the project cleverly uses objects to tell the story of its industrial heritage, creating a compelling narrative that connects the architecture from floor to ceiling.
In Osaka, the Small Retail Interior prize went to the Tojiro Knife Gallery by L/O and Katata Yoshihito Design. Tucked away in a renowned kitchenware arcade, the design evokes traditional Japanese wood panel cladding, meticulously ensuring the product’s language is carried through the entire space. The design uses an element of theatricality that is purposeful, promoting the durability and precision of the knives themselves. The judges were impressed by the fluidity and strong sense of narrative, noting that every element seems to be “cut or bladed,” linking the architecture directly to the craft it celebrates.
Leisure Elevated: Culture in the Concrete Jungle
Proving that leisure spaces can be both culturally valuable and architecturally dynamic, AAN Architects’ Moreprk Skyline in central Shanghai won the Leisure and Wellness Interior of the Year. The stunning project consists of an indoor skatepark suspended in a glass box, offering views of the city below. The core feature is a sunken, undulating bowl, anchored with concrete and steel, creating a dynamic and immersive experience.
The judges celebrated the project’s use of high commercial value space to create culture and community, rather than purely profit-driven utility. They highlighted the clever design details, such as the mirrored ceiling that echoes the movement in the bowl below, and the curved handrails and lighting that follow the same fluid curvature. Moreprk Skyline is an exemplary case study in fully immersive experience design, where every element contributes to the atmosphere of dynamic motion and social engagement, translating the energy of the skate culture across the entire architectural space.
