Com Plates by Hiroshi Takahashi Wins Bronze A' Design Award

Com Plates, an ultra-thin wooden tableware design by Hiroshi Takahashi, has won a Bronze A' Design Award in Italy. The recognition spotlights an upcycled wood process that aims to make wooden tableware lighter, thinner and more stackable while showing a new use case for discarded material.

Why it matters: - The award puts upcycled wood tableware on an international design stage at a time when kitchenware buyers are watching for sustainability, durability and space-saving features. - Com Plates shows how discarded wood can be turned into a higher-value product category, not just reused as a lower-grade material. - The design also suggests a path for wooden products to compete with resin and plastic tableware on practicality, not just aesthetics.

What happened: - The A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award named Com Plates by Hiroshi Takahashi a Bronze A' Design Award winner. - The recognition was announced in Como, Italy, on July 8, 2026. - Com Plates is a wooden tableware design built with precision metalworking expertise applied to wood. - The award page is available here.

The details: - Com Plates reaches a wall thickness of 1.5 millimeters, and the proprietary process can reach 1 millimeter. - The design does not rely on thin boards assembled together. - The process carves blocks into extremely thin sections to reduce warping and cracking. - Wood is embedded in a mold during machining to protect the material from damage. - The surfaces are programmed for gap-free stacking. - The finished pieces are light, durable and compact when stacked. - The design also has a sculptural quality that allows it to function as tableware and as an art object. - The A' Design Award uses blind peer review and an expert jury panel with design professionals, kitchenware industry experts, journalists and academics. - The Bronze A' Design Award recognizes designs with creativity and practicality in the kitchenware category. - The judging criteria include innovative functionality, aesthetic appeal, ergonomic design, material quality, durability, environmental impact, space efficiency, production feasibility and originality. - The A' Design Award has been organized since 2008 and is now in its eighteenth year. - The competition is open to entries from all countries. - The competition says its mission is to promote superior products and projects that advance and benefit society. - More information about the competition is available on the A' Design Award site.

Between the lines: - The recognition validates a hybrid manufacturing approach that blends metalworking methods with woodworking, which is unusual in the tableware category. - The win may help open a niche market for stackable wooden products that emphasize precision manufacturing. - The award also reinforces a broader design trend: turning waste materials into premium consumer goods with a clear functional advantage.

What's next: - The recognition may encourage further experimentation with upcycled wood as a contemporary material for kitchenware. - Hiroshi Takahashi and the companies behind the project say the award supports continued refinement of proprietary methods and broader sharing of the process. - The project is positioned to influence future wooden product development focused on lightness, stacking efficiency and material reuse.

The bottom line: - Com Plates turned discarded wood into an internationally recognized kitchenware design by combining extreme thinness, stackability and precision manufacturing.