Works#2024

Sapporo Flower Carpet 2024 is a citizen-participation art event in which participants create large flower paintings using Hokkaido petals and natural materials, with the main venue being the Hokkaido Prefectural Government Red Brick Building and Sapporo Kita 3-jo Square. The aim is to promote the beautiful "flower scenery" of Hokkaido and Sapporo, and to promote the floriculture industry. The event began in 2014 and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, with a total of approximately 3,800 volunteers involved in the production and a total of approximately 640,000 visitors. In 2024, the event will be held from June 28th (Friday) to 30th (Sunday). Fujie Suzuki, a Sapporo native and art director at NOMURA IVD, was invited to design the anniversary carpet (main carpet) commemorating the 10th anniversary of the event. NOMURA IVD was also in charge of the key visuals for this event. The theme of the anniversary carpet is "Weaving, towards the future." The carpet is the largest to date, at 225m², and was concept design and created by Suzuki himself, the first Japanese concept design the Brussels Flower Carpet 2016, which was highly praised both at home and abroad. NOMURA has been providing special support by concept design the anniversary carpet and key visuals, and providing PR and volunteer support. The Sapporo Flower Carpet has been held since 2014. It is run by a public-private partnership between the government (Hokkaido and Sapporo City) and private companies. It is working to develop human resources who will increase the value of the region, run by a diverse group of citizen volunteers, from young children to people working in the neighborhood and foreign residents, and promote understanding of the floriculture industry in Hokkaido for the next generation through collaboration with elementary and high schools.

FOXEY is a one-of-a-kind made-in-Japan brand that has consistently created products based on the concept of "clothes that accentuate the beauty of women" since its founding in 1980. The "FOXEY ADEAM KITTE Osaka Store" opened at KITTE Osaka, a new landmark in Osaka, and was the first street-front store in the Osaka area, for which we were in charge of interiors construction work.

The shichimi can from Yawataya Isogoro is a famous Shinshu souvenir. The theme of displays held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its sale was "Dissecting the Shichimi Can." The secrets hidden in the small can were unraveled from the perspectives of history, materials, and concept design. A panel concept design that resembled an unfolded label enveloped the small venue, and the shichimi can, a beloved supporting role on the dinner table, took center stage, adding color to the venue. This exhibition was also held at the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum's Civic Gallery, and recorded the highest number of visitors of any gallery displays.

This is a renovation project for an inn located in the western part of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. This project is the second and third phase renewal of "Atara Yoru Nishiizu," named after a poem in the Manyoshu collection, "A wonderful night that is a pity to see it end." In the first phase, we renovated the suites and bar, in the second phase, we renovated the guest rooms, and in the third phase, we renovated the façade, lobby, rooftop terrace (foot bath), common corridor, and live kitchen, and we were in charge of the complete renovation. We created an experience where you can enjoy the evening, with spacious and comfortable guest rooms where young couples and married couples can relax, a lobby where you can roast and eat marshmallows while soaking your feet in a foot bath, and a rooftop terrace with a foot bath where you can enjoy watching the horizon of Nishiizu.

We designed and concept design the entire house, from design administration concept design the interior design and exterior concept design. The site overlooks the Sea of Japan, and the area is known as a scenic spot with a dynamic topography called "cave". On the other hand, if you look at the surrounding area, you will see that the labyrinth-like intricate alleys create a unique streetscape. This is a feature unique to this area, with a square-shaped structure with cranked intersections to prevent the north wind from blowing through. By incorporating this unique alley structure into the ground floor plan, the architectural volume is segmented and harmonizes with the surrounding environment. The exterior and entrance hall are structured like a topography based on the motif of the ria coast, and the continuity with the streetscape is ensured by setting back from the south side. On the other hand, the north façade is raised one step higher than the surrounding area, and has a three-dimensional square-shaped structure intended to prevent the north wind from blowing through to the city. For the exterior finish, in order to echo the external characteristics of the ria coastline, with its rocky surface at the bottom and lush trees at the top, we used rock-like concrete with exposed aggregates for the lower layer, and wood-grain concrete with cedar board formwork for the upper layer. Both the aggregates that appear on the surface and the cedar board formwork materials are made from materials that can be collected in the area, and we hope that the unique expressions of the materials will weave the unique scenery of the location into the future. In addition, by applying this two-tiered structure to the finishes of the interior spaces as well, it creates a sense of unity with the architecture, contributing to fostering a sense of unity between the inside and outside.

Fujifilm Business Innovation's Green Park FLOOP is a place where adults can make new discoveries and children can learn and think freely. It was opened in 2024 as an experiential facility where visitors can learn about environmental issues and Fujifilm Business Innovation's technology in an easy-to-understand manner while experiencing various multifunction printer-related technologies, and explore the future of a sustainable earth. In the four experiential displays zones (Studio, Technology, Think, and Action), visitors can learn about future city development, multifunction printer technology, and environmental issues in an interactive manner. The adjacent Cafe & Co-work offers environmentally friendly menus based on the concept of "circulation." Throughout the facility, the company's environmental efforts and technological innovations are expressed, providing an opportunity for visitors to think about and act on a sustainable future. We aimed to create a new learning space open to the community where adults and children can learn in a fun way.

"REVERSE AREA" in the Maruhan Sendai Kudatake store, which opened in Sendai, is a new type of rest space where you can feel relaxed in contrast to the heat of the pachinko parlor. To evoke the combination of the heat of the parlor and the relaxing space, we focused on the flow of the sauna, cold bath, and open-air bath, and adopted content that has a healing and relaxing effect in the room. To maximize the healing power of water, we selected a device that shakes a water basin to project the ripples in the space, fresh forest aromas, original healing sounds, and reclining chairs and bowl-type chairs, creating a place where you can immerse yourself in "relaxation" with all your senses. Our company is in charge of planning and basic concept, design, layout, building execution, environmental features, and sign and graphic concept design.

The Meiji Memorial Oiso Teien was established in 2017 as part of the measures related to the "150th anniversary of the Meiji era," and is being developed to display the historical mansion and garden as a single structure. In the Okuma and Mutsu area, which will open to the public in November 2024, we planned and produced video content that introduces the architectural features and highlights of the mansion, displays convey the achievements and personalities of people associated with the mansion, and renovation projects to repair and strengthen the historical building, and we also repaired the furniture and interiors. The exhibit, which uses a model to clearly and visually express the differences between the former displays and the current building, and the roof can be raised and lowered to allow visitors to see not only the exterior but also the differences in room layout, has been well received by visitors.

It opened in April 2024 as a restaurant created by Chef Kobayashi Kei of the Parisian French restaurant "Restaurant KEI" and "Toraya", a Japanese confectionery shop founded in the late Muromachi period. In Ginza, Tokyo, where tradition and newness coexist and diverse food cultures can be enjoyed, we want to create a restaurant that goes beyond French cuisine, pursues innovation in gourmet food with a free-thinking approach, without being bound by anything. We want everyone who works here, not just the chefs, to learn and research ingredients, share the essence of gourmet food with customers who visit, and make not only the food but the entire experience here satisfy the customers' hearts. "ESPRIT C. KEI GINZA" is a so-called "gourmet laboratory" that embodies Chef Kobayashi Kei's thoughts. The restaurant consists of a main dining room with live counter seats centered around the open kitchen, which is the key to creating the dishes, table seats covered with a wooden concept design, and a private kitchen with a private room inspired by a laboratory. France is said to have a culture of stone, and Japan has a culture of wood. This restaurant is a new space where French and Japanese cultures meet, blending the cultures of both countries in a harmonious blend of stone and wood. The ceiling concept design that covers the entire floor is a dynamic composition that changes from a traditional checkerboard pattern to an innovative cave-like installation, expressing tradition and innovation.

This is a new style bar created by chef Kei Kobayashi and Saint-Louis, a French crystal maison founded in 1586. You can enjoy the dishes and desserts created by the chef along with drinks served in traditional Saint-Louis crystal glasses. The new two-row bar style was created by the service staff and the chef, and the custom-made counter made of Datekanmuri stone rises up like a stage along with the cooking scene. A terrace seat is planned behind the bar, and a Japanese garden is used as the base for the garden, and concept design is three-dimensional with the stairs to the roof. In expressing the tradition and history of Saint-Louis and Toraya, two long-established brands representing Japan and France, in the space, we are particular about using real materials. The top of the first row counter is made of Jindai cedar, a wood that is said to have been fossilized in the ground for over 2,000 years, and the second row counter is made of Datekan stone, which was also created by crustal movements over a long period of time. The cultures of France and Japan come together in a space where stone and wood harmonize, and the sparkle of Saint-Louis crystal scattered throughout adds a touch of French flair.

Kagaya is a famous Japanese inn with its main store in Wakura Onsen, Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture. In January 2024, Kagaya suffered severe damage from the earthquake that occurred off the coast of the Noto Peninsula. However, at the entrance to the inn, there was a pine tree that stood unaffected by the earthquake, and people were touched by its majestic appearance. Therefore, in creating this store, concept design concept was based on the "pine tree," which is revered as an object of prayer in the Noto region. The counter ceiling located in the center of the store is designed with pine leaves connected together to symbolically express the pine tree stretching up to the sky. The facade is concept design to represent pine leaves stretching up into the Noto sky, creating a warm welcome for visitors. Additionally, a silver-thread belt that has been passed down from generation to generation to female inns is displayed on a display shelf behind the counter, and art and crafts that have been passed down through generations at the inn are scattered throughout the inn, preserving the beauty and techniques of Noto. Together, we created the store, combining Kagaya's traditions, spirit of hospitality, and desire for recovery with the vitality and strength of the Noto pine trees.

This project is to revive Kinokuniya Bookstore's salon, a place of hospitality, on the top floor of the flagship Shinjuku main store building. When the building was constructed in 1964, the company's founder, Moichi Tanabe, created a salon as a social gathering place for the literary world. Time has passed since then, but this space has been lost, so in order to revive it in the present day, we were in charge of design, layout, production, construction, etc. of this new project, following the renovation of the Shinjuku main store, which took place from 2021 to 2023.

This project involved concept design, interiors renovation, and environmental features of the children's corner of Nakano City's Ekoda Library, located in a quiet residential area where children from the neighborhood gather. On the first floor, we replaced the old interiors materials with new ones and created a bookshelf unique to the children's corner, where large books and picture-story shows can be stored. We also created a magazine area for parents to enjoy, creating a space where parents and children can spend time together. In this space, where children are greeted by the library's original characters, "Shishimaru" and "Egotan," inspired by the "Ekoda Lion Dance," an intangible folk cultural property designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, we aimed to give children the impression that libraries are fun places. On the second floor, we installed a new counter and chairs. By using acrylic material for part of the counter, it has become a space where you can quietly read while feeling the faint warmth of the sunlight.

We exhibited "Being Furniture" at DESIGNART TOKYO 2024, Japan's largest concept design and art festival (with the theme "Reframing - The Beginning of Transformation"). "Being Furniture" is a project that reconsiders the relationship between people and objects. We create many things every day in our spatial concept design projects, but behind the scenes, we feel that there is a big issue with these things being discarded or no longer used while still fully usable. When we think about a situation in which an object is used for a long time and with great care, it is often the case that a relationship is formed that gives rise to an attachment to the object. In such cases, we noticed that we have gone from a sense of "owning and using" to a sense of "being with" the object and caring about it. Therefore, we thought that noticing this change in sensation might be one way to solve the problem. The furniture presented in the project is not particularly sturdy or functional. Rather, it has a certain instability and whimsy that makes us want to care for it. If furniture changes from "being" to "being there," how will we interact with it? Through a series of experimental concept design in this project, we ask society about the transformation in value between people and objects. Our company's vision is to "open up all kinds of spatial possibilities starting from the 'creativity' of each individual," and we are working to create spaces that enrich people's hearts. As part of this, we continue to exhibit at concept design events both in Japan and overseas in order to take on the social issues we face from a creative perspective and create a cycle of communication, exchange, and innovation through our output.

This is a project for the all-day dining restaurant "MONDO Sagami Ohno" that will open on the 7th floor of Odakyu Hotel Century Sagami Ohno. The restaurant will have a spacious space of over 666 square meters and a huge wood-fired oven, which will be the symbol of the restaurant "MONDO". Based on the theme of "from the mountain to the table", the restaurant will bring out the original flavor of the ingredients through wood-fired cooking, and serve simple and innovative flavors. Guests can casually enjoy authentic Italian cuisine, including a lunch buffet featuring carefully made handmade bread and steaks baked in a wood-fired oven. The restaurant will also feature "BAR ROJY", where you can casually enjoy authentic cocktails and rare old whiskeys, and "Kogasaka Bake Sagami Ohno", where you can purchase freshly baked bread and baked goods, proposing a free, warm and unique restaurant experience to the people of the city.