Fukui Station Area Dinosaur Expansion Project

Fukui Prefecture and Fukui City have launched the "Fukui Station Area Dinosaur displays Project" to promote "Fukui, the Dinosaur Kingdom" to visitors and create a lively atmosphere using dinosaurs, in preparation for the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line between Fukui and Tsuruga in the spring of 2024. Fukui City is in charge of the east exit area of Fukui Station, and has installed a monument of a parent and child Triceratops with the theme of parental love in the east exit plaza. The parent Triceratops is a life-sized dinosaur robot that expresses parental love by moving and making sounds at set times. Meanwhile, the shelter area of Fukui Station is designed to resemble the world of land. Visitors can interact with three baby dinosaurs, including a Spinosaurus, and the egg monument is a photo spot where visitors can go inside and take pictures. In addition, the adjacent pedestrian walkway is designed to resemble the world of the sky. A bench where a child dreaming of becoming a paleontologist sits, and a sign reading "Pterosaur Sanctuary" have been installed. On the outer wall of Echizen Railway Fukui Station, facing the road beyond, a 20-meter-long mural of a herd of pteranodons is painted. Furthermore, the area under the elevated tracks is designed to evoke the world of the sea, with an internally illuminated "Marine Lizard Sanctuary" sign based on the blue of the ocean and benches adorned with reliefs of marine dinosaurs such as plesiosaurs. In this way, each area has a different theme, and the points of interest change to encourage visitors to explore the area.

- We want to create a place that visitors will want to visit, and one that local residents will also feel attached to.
・We want to connect the east and west exits of Fukui Station, making it easier to get around and encouraging people to walk around the town.
- We want to create a space that incorporates the perspective of sustainable space development, such as by using dinosaurs to generate buzz and create an impact.

The above request was made.

・We connected the east and west sides of the city and developed the area to create an impression of "Fukui, the Kingdom of Dinosaurs," where numerous fossils have been discovered. The main dinosaurs are not limited to stereotypical expressions such as fighting and power, but are instead portrayed in a new way, with a theme of family love, which is in line with Fukui City's branding and will resonate with many people.
- The image of the dinosaurs blending into the area around the station and living their lives to the fullest overlaps with us, transcending time, making it a new landmark for the city of Fukui and creating a lively atmosphere.

Since your company was also responsible for the development of the dinosaur monument on the roof of the Fukui City Tourism Exchange Center at the east exit of Fukui Station, which is in the same area as this project, we were able to ensure a sense of unity in the area's concept and concept design.