Works#Sustainability

For the "Wakayama Zone" of the Kansai Pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), we collaborated with Hideki Yoshimoto, the general director of the Wakayama Zone, to express "high-quality Wakayama." The video device "Totem," reminiscent of the giant trees of the Kii Mountains, is finished with Kishu lacquer, and the counter tables and chairs that provide dining experiences are also made of Kishu wood. Wakayama's traditional crafts and materials are utilized in the various elements that make up the space, condensing the charm of Wakayama, which is a source of pride for the world, into the space.

At Japan Home Show & Building Show 2025, one of Japan's largest architectural displays, we created displays booth to promote the new product "PANECO®," an environmentally friendly material made from upcycled discarded clothing. We were responsible for the entire booth, from concept concept design to construction. Based on PANECO® and lightweight steel (LGS), we concept design a large, approximately 4-meter-tall structure with floors, walls, and ceilings entirely made of PANECO®. The full-scale walls intuitively convey the scale of PANECO®'s use as an interiors building material, while the interior proposes lifestyle scenes that utilize PANECO®. By creating different surfaces on the exterior and interior of displays booth, we were able to directly and impressively convey its use as both a base material and a finishing material, as well as the relationships between construction materials, its workability, and the unique texture and appearance of the material itself.

The "Future City" Pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo) is a joint exhibit project by the Expo Association and 12 supporting organizations. The Kubota Germination Lab is a research institute that addresses people's aspirations and global issues, and considers future food and agriculture that is friendly to both people and the earth. Life, food, and agriculture are connected from the past to the present and into the future, and we believe that we too play a role in these connections. This was a forum for participants to realize and consider the importance of each individual considering the entire food system, from production to consumption, and the importance of communicating the technology that supports the food system.

Gora Kadan Fuji, which faces the peak of Mount Fuji directly west and offers panoramic views from all 42 guest rooms and public areas, is the first accommodation facility opened by the venerable Hakone inn "Gora Kadan." We were responsible for design, layout of the common areas, such as the lobby lounge in the reception building, dining, bar, spa, and shop, as well as the FFE (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) concept design for all areas, including the guest rooms.

The renovation of the first and second floors of Barneys New York's Ginza flagship store was based on the concepts of "memory" and "creation." The goal was to create a space that respects the brand's long-standing traditions (memory) while generating new value (creation). While utilizing existing fixtures such as muted wood-grain walls and niches, the design combines sustainable materials, materials that blend naturally into existing finishes, and unique, symbolic fixtures to create a fusion of timeless sophistication and provocative humor. The watch workshop at the back of the first floor was designed as a "visible customer service" space, and a semi-private meeting space with a private feel enhances the experience during the visit. Furthermore, the newly installed cafe counter was designed to be visible from the outside, aiming to attract new customers. Proceeding to the second floor, connected via the central staircase, mirrored walls at different angles are installed to bring the entire floor into view, creating a symbolic look. Furthermore, a display was placed in front of the vintage area at the back to enhance attraction and traffic flow. Within a short construction period and limited budget, we proactively repurposed existing fixtures and quickly verified them using point cloud data, resulting in a solid concept design proposal. The project created an iconic, luxurious space that is uniquely Barneys, preserving tradition while pioneering the future.

The Sumitomo Pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition, Osaka, Japan (Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai) is a pavilion where visitors can experience a magnificent "Story of Life" set in the "Unknown Forest." Lanterns in hand, visitors of all ages can wander freely through the forest, experiencing the interconnectedness of life that is invisible in everyday life. Light and mist change in response to visitors' movements, revealing the "Story of Life" in nature, including trees conversing underground, the centuries-old life cycle of trees, and the animals and fungi that lurk in the forest. A theater deep in the forest depicts the journey and fragments of memory of Mother Tree, who has watched over the forest from its birth to its final moments. The wind and mist drifting through the space stir visitors' senses, culminating in a powerful performance that combines layered images, music, and people. After the forest experience, visitors can tour the "Seeds of the Future" area, which displays over 700 cutting-edge technologies and initiatives from the Sumitomo Group and connects to a platform that utilizes generative AI, allowing anyone to create and share ideas for the future. The Sumitomo Pavilion was built using approximately 1,000 cedar and cypress trees planted in 1970, the year of the Osaka Expo. In addition to their experience in "Unknown Forest," visitors can also participate in a "tree-planting experience" where they can come into contact with seedlings and soil, and the newly grown seedlings will be returned to their original forest. The "story of life" will continue even after the Expo and be passed on to the next generation.

This project marks the first "Real x Tech LAWSON" store, which opened within KDDI's new Head Office. The store utilizes AI and DX technologies. In addition to developing the basic concept design for the new store, our Content Integration Center (CIC) leveraged its expertise in utilizing technology to propose and produce various ideas for utilizing AI and DX technologies. The store also incorporates sustainability initiatives, such as reusing discarded uniforms worn by Lawson store staff for flooring and discarded clothing for panels. The in-store signage, linked to the "Urban OS" data platform that collects, analyzes, and utilizes various urban data, displays information on weather, train delays, congestion, and events. Other features include a "cleaning robot" that roams the store, AI cameras that display recommended products based on customer behavior (such as reaching) in front of shelves, and a "Ponta General Consultation Center" that offers solutions to everyday problems. The store is packed with new initiatives aimed at making convenience stores an integral part of the city's infrastructure.

Ginza Niigata Information Center THE NIIGATA is Niigata Prefecture's information hub for the greater Tokyo area. It spans five floors, from the basement to the third and eighth floors, and is equipped with a variety of functions, including retail, a sake tasting corner, an event space, a restaurant, and an immigration consultation desk. Our company was responsible for the design and construction of the first basement floor to the third floor, as well as the facility branding plan and brand logo development. In addition to showcasing Niigata's rich attractions, such as rice, sake, and snow, we focused our planning and design on concept design. We aimed to create a facility that would allow visitors to experience Niigata's charms and serve as an opportunity to visit the city, with materials and displays originating from Niigata scattered throughout.

Cartier, a brand that has always supported women, will be exhibiting at the Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, calling for a fair and sustainable future through the experiences and perspectives of women, with the concept of "Towards a future where we live together and shine together." With a spatial concept design that creates an artistic and overwhelming worldview and an immersive displays experience using an audio guide, the pavilion will spotlight the contributions of women in society and invite visitors on a journey that unravels their "power of change."

The "Cities of the Future" Pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo) is a joint exhibit project by the Expo Association and 12 other sponsors. Based on the concept of "WIND VISION," the MOL displays Place features a large-scale model of the hydrogen production ship "Windhunter," which MOL is developing, and a large screen. An interactive, experiential displays was created to allow visitors to experience the "wind," an inexhaustible natural energy source captured by the Windhunter, and the "wind" created by the ship.

At the demonstration plant "RITE Future Forest" exhibited by the National Institute of Global Environmental Technology (RITE) at the 2025 Japan International Exposition (Osaka-Kansai Expo), we provided comprehensive production from planning, concept design, architecture, displays design and supervision to operational support. The facility is engaged in demonstration experiments of future technologies that are expected in the future by combining both DAC (Direct Air Capture)*1, which directly captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and CCS (Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage)*2, which stores carbon dioxide directly from the ground. This project aims to create a new forest in the future, by capturing carbon dioxide emitted by humans with human power. In the Guidance Building, we also worked on architecture as a demonstration experiment for new technologies, and realized the world's first future wooden construction technology, the CLT*3-fold structure hanging method, based on the concept of the forest of the future. The hang-up method is a conceptual method in which triangular CLT panels that are tightly connected to each other by hinge hardware are laid on a horizontal surface, and a specific part is lifted by a crane to deform it like origami under its own weight to form a folding plate structure. This time, by using this construction method, it was also an architectural demonstration project to create a large space with a structure with an expressive expression and to promote the spread of CLT structures that have both concept design, functionality, and construction. As a result, an architectural space that exudes a sacred atmosphere that exudes a sense of tightness has emerged, and the CLT folding structure itself made of domestic cedar has become a unique building that realizes an acoustic environment like a concert hall that resonates with displays videos and performances. After the exhibition, there are plans to relocate to the RITE headquarters in Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture in order to use it as a sustainable building. Through exhibiting at the Expo and subsequent utilization, we addressed various social issues such as reducing carbon dioxide emissions, minimizing waste, and promoting the spread of CLT structures. *1 Technology to reduce CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere *2 Technology to collect emitted CO₂ and store it in the ground *3 Wood-based materials made by layering and bonding the ground sheets so that the fiber directions are orthogonal after arranging them.

This is Kawasaki Heavy Industries' displays space at the "City of the Future" pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo). displays concept is "Mobility Instinct Laboratory." The Kawasaki Heavy Industries Group's vision of a mobility society in 2050 is expressed through an experiential displays using a full-scale mobility vehicle. Through visitors' experiences of "seeing," "touching," and "experiencing," the space provides a sense of great hope and expectation for the future of mobility. By combining a spatial presentation that combines a futuristic feel with an immersive feeling using large LEDs with displays and experience using a full-scale mobility vehicle, the space allows visitors to experience the future of mobility as if it were their own.

EARTH MART, the signature pavilion for the 2025 World Exposition in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), was produced by Kundo Koyama. Based on the theme of "Considering Life through Food," it shares the potential of the food culture cultivated by the Japanese people and the evolution of food through technology, creating a space for considering "new ways of eating" that will lead us into the future. The design, which showcases "life" in a supermarket setting typically filled with "food," allows visitors to experience and gain insights into the background of life. Discovering value in everyday scenes provides an opportunity to reflect on the choices we make in various daily situations. Furthermore, the space is constructed using living materials such as "vegetable flowers" and "recycled eggs made from eggshells." The content itself was developed in collaboration with various people involved in food (farmers, sushi chefs, biotechnology researchers), creating an "integrated worldview" that unfolds in the space, thereby conveying its message. By resetting various assumptions through these "fragments of life," visitors can become aware of what is truly important to life, develop gratitude and kindness, and experience a subtle happiness. This product embodies Producer Koyama's desire to leave you with a lasting impression that makes you want to cherish mealtimes just a little more than yesterday.

As the host country of the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), which will be held under the theme of "concept design a Future Society for Life," this pavilion, based on the theme "Between Life and Life," seamlessly connects displays and architecture, allowing visitors to experience the significance of "circulation." The Japan Pavilion, with its circular structure embodying the relay of life, exudes a unique presence as a pavilion of a host country. While the flow of visitors is naturally drawn into the pavilion as they walk around it, its most distinctive feature is the countless wooden planks arranged in a circular pattern. The gaps between these planks allow visitors to glimpse the interior, and the continuity between inside and outside, displays and architecture, encourages visitors to become aware of the "in-between" aspect of the pavilion's theme. Another unique feature of this pavilion is the concept of a "Japan Pavilion that eats garbage." Microorganisms will decompose waste generated within the Expo site and convert it into energy and water. This "living pavilion" allows visitors to relive this process through an installation* and experience how the energy and water generated power the Japan Pavilion. By circulating the three-zone pavilion, visitors can sense the significance of "circulation," a Japanese aesthetic, and truly feel part of this long and magnificent story. Additionally, by using primarily cross-laminated timber (CLT) as "wooden boards" and steel for the structure, the pavilion uses CLT in as simple and symbolic a way as possible. The CLT used in the Japan Pavilion is planned for reuse by companies and local governments across Japan after the Expo ends, and has been designed for easy dismantling and repurposing. By understanding the value of "circulation," which underlies the Japan Pavilion's theme, "Between Life and Life," we aim to encourage visitors to reexamine the circulation that surrounds us and explore the future of society and hints for a sustainable future. Our company is responsible for displays concept design (schematic design, working drawings), construction, and operation of the Japan Pavilion. *A contemporary art form in which the entire displays space is experienced as a work of art. The audience walks around the space and enjoys the work through sights, sounds, and more.

This pavilion for the Osaka-Kansai Expo uses realistic materials to express the rich stories of Qatar's people, land, and sea. The space is composed of real sand that recreates the desert landscape with delicate gradations, aluminum that resembles the deep sea covering the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a giant curtain with intricate embroidery that symbolizes the country's cultural richness. We designed an experiential displays space in which Qatar's traditional crafts and landscapes emerge in a fantastical way amid materials that directly appeal to the visitor's sensibilities.