CITYist

For those wary that Japan is surpassing the U.S. in technological rigor (or did long ago), here’s a new frontier to worry about: design. Furniture design, that is. Renowned Italian house Bottega Veneta is hosting a competition amongst the architecture students at the University of Tokyo to create a piece of furniture, and creating a pop up store housing their own signature products while they’re at it.

The University of Tokyo, the first national university in Japan, is known for its renowned design school and impressive roster of alum. Each contestant had the opportunity to design a piece of furniture that served a purpose to someone seated (and will be sold at Bottega Veneta stores) and present their sketches to Creative Director Tomas Maier, who chose the three winners. Next month, they will introduce their projects at the 2010 Salone del Mobile presentation, a week-long event centered around Japanese culture and craft and featuring a Bottega Veneta pop up store. The pop up store is a hot concept these days—quick, immediate and to-the-point, it’s the fashion world’s version of a tweet. But we imagine the world will need more than 140 characters to discuss the work of Bottega Veneta and their Japanese protégés.