We are delighted to announce that mui Lab has won over the jury at the sixth edition of the Archiproducts Design Awards in the category Systems, Components and Materials for its concept and design, the annual prize celebrating worldwide design excellence! 
The jury made up of architects, journalists, photographers and creative directors from all over the world assessed over 750 submissions and selected the best proposals.  

Here is the page for mui Lab as an honoree. 

A dedicated jury of specialists in eco-design and sustainability within the field of architecture and design have also awarded our product with the “2021 special Mention for Sustainability”, this year’s new ADAs award for products that adhere to a logic based on the circular economy concept. An outstanding jury of experts in eco-design and sustainability awarded brands committed to minimising harmful emissions and environmental impacts throughout their products’ life cycles, using sustainable and recyclable materials. mui Lab was selected because of our optimization of the lifecycle that is combining technology, design and performance. 

Discover all the Special Mention Sustainability winning products!

Below explains what is our product of mui M1 and our sustainable approach to contribute to the society. 

The wooden mui board, named mui M1, has three functions: a smart home control hub to control lighting, air conditioning, speakers, etc., an information posting function to get information about weather, radio news, family events, etc., and a communication function to bring emotional value to the family. These are the three functions of the system. Compared to existing smart home devices, the mui board is a device that encourages users to feel and think about other users, instead of drawing their attention, and allows them to converse with them through text and voice messages. Because it is made of wood, a natural material, users can naturally achieve a state of calmness and gentleness by touching the mui board. In addition, people who receive messages through the mui board can see the sender’s handwritten message and voice, which gives a warmer impression compared to the traditional exchange of messages in a standardized font. The mui board is a medium to convey words of gratitude, appreciation and care that are difficult to communicate between family members who has become in a relationship that things are taken for granted or too embarrassed to say to each other. Just by writing a few words while the other person is asleep or away, a single word may become a catalyst to start a new relationship.

We at mui Lab approach people in order to implement essential and fundamental sustainability. Since human thoughts and actions create the reality of this world, we believe that approaching the human senses is the most fundamental and efficient method. Nowadays, wellbeing is being actively promoted, and the market size is increasing year by year, but to achieve the essential wellbeing of human beings means to be connected to nature and live a life with a perspective of wholeness. In order to achieve this, we believe it is important for humans to be designed in the direction of acting intentionally for the benefit of the whole. One of the guiding principles of this way of thinking is “mui-shizen” as Lao-Tzu said, which is also the origin of the name of our company, mui Lab. As a technology company, we design and implement technologies that support and encourage people to build good relationships with others and nature in a natural way. That is why we create the products that are used in our daily lives and services with a message that has valuable meaning to the society, so that these ideas and senses naturally become behavioral guidelines and integrated into our daily lives as a matter of course. mui Lab aims to be a technology company that brings sustainable ways of thinking and acting to society through an approach to the human spirit and mind, and to be an agent through which humans can work better for life as a whole.

In terms of material sustainability, mui is also unique: when the mui board is turned off, it disappears into the interior like a piece of furniture. It could also be used as a shelf to store things. Since family members try to leave messages to other members through the mui board, it can easily become a companion of the family, just like the existence of a pillar or wall as an object to carve the height of a child or a picture to enjoy the growth of a child. A mui board engraved in your mind will stay with your family and make your relationship better. In other words, even if it is not connected to the Internet, or if it is broken and no longer functions, it will still serve an invisible function in terms of appealing to the heart. Compared to existing digital devices and IoT devices that require replacement after a few years, mui will be a product that people will want to use for a long time because it harmonizes not only with the interior but also with the human mind. It is truly a wabi-sabi way of thinking. Our ideal is for people to be able to use mui for a long time with affection, as an existence that has a sad beauty even after it withers, or an appearance that may appeal something to some viewers, which we call it “Tatazumai of technology”.