The city of Tome in Miyagi Prefecture solicited ideas on how to use the wood used in the Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ villages, and decided to reuse the wood for tables and chairs used in public facilities. On October 31st, an award ceremony was held for the works that were publicly solicited, and certificates of commendation were handed to the winners. Tome City donated approximately 100 square timbers of Japanese cedar produced in the city free of charge for the construction of facilities for the athletes’ village. Taking advantage of the return of squared timbers in February this year, the city has solicited ideas for ways to reuse the timbers in order to make them familiar to residents as a legacy of the Olympic Games. Masafumi Abe, a high school teacher from Tome City, who won the grand prize, proposed to line up square timbers and process them into boards, and then attach legs to each to make a table and chairs, based on the concept of “Everyone Get Together.” did. The city will proceed with the production based on the proposal and will install it in public facilities around autumn next year. Grand Prize Winner Masafumi Abe “I would appreciate it if it could be used by a wide variety of people. I would appreciate it if you could use it in a place where everyone gathers.” An award ceremony was also held for the public offering of designs for the “first touch of woodwork”. The grand prize was awarded to a wall-mounted photo frame with scales so that children’s height can be measured. All children born in Tome City after April of this year will receive the gift as a souvenir from the city.
JP2021.COM