Works#Sustainability

I-NEC has relocated Head Office to Frontier Meieki, an environmentally friendly, cutting-edge office building in Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya. The concept is "rays of hope," with the symbolic color "I-NEC Blue" and light interwoven in the space, so that people can take a new step and feel a hopeful future. The cutting-edge office space combines environmental consideration with concept design, and concept design elements of "light," "blue," and "environmentally friendly materials" create a place that embodies the company's purpose and vision. Under the direction of Taki Tanaka, representative of IZA, who is in charge of I-NEC's branding, a symbolic piece of "light" art was installed at the reception in collaboration with Takahiro Matsuo (artwork), representative of LUCENT Inc, and Setsuya Kurotaki (sound concept design), representative of NOiR inc. In addition, the entire office is gently enveloped in I-NEC Blue, bringing a sense of unity and connection to all who gather here. In addition, the existing base for the OA floor was washed and used as is, eliminating the need for finishing materials to reduce the environmental impact, and the walls are made of cement tiles made from recycled waste materials such as coal ash from thermal power plants and used coffee beans. We were in charge of the design and construction.

The Malaysian Pavilion, exhibited at the 2025 World Expo in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), is a space that comprehensively expresses the tradition, diversity, and advanced nature of the multi-ethnic nation of Malaysia, with the theme of "INTERWOVEN - Weaving a Harmonious Future." At the center of the pavilion is the symbolic "Tree of Harmony," about 10 meters tall, whose leaves are hand-woven by artisans from all over Malaysia using sustainable natural materials, and whose trunk is an organic structure made by weaving fast-growing bamboo in a spiral shape. The morphological language of this design is also deployed in displays floor, lighting, and graphics, symbolizing the network that weaves the entire pavilion. As a pavilion where diversity intersects to weave one big story, it has become a place that embodies hope for a harmonious future.

The Animal Science Museum, located within Chiba City Zoological Park, has undergone a complete renovation of its displays the flora and fauna that inhabit the rainforest, such as gorillas, birds, and nocturnal animals, visitors can learn about the interconnectedness of life and the preciousness of the global environment through displays before and after.

The hotel is directly connected to Kitahiroshima Station on the JR Chitose Line, the closest station to Hokkaido Ballpark F Village. The first to third floors are commercial facilities, and the fourth to thirteenth floors are the hotel with a total of 158 guest rooms. We were mainly in charge of concept design and construction of the hotel lobby and the guest room floor on the 11th floor, which has a Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters theme. The lobby space is sprinkled with baseball-themed elements, and the ceiling features an image of the Fighters' home stadium, S.Con Field HOKKAIDO, and the Fighters colors are used to create an exciting space. The Fighters floor has a corridor as a gallery space, where autographed uniforms and photos of players are displays, and the guest rooms are chicly coordinated in black to evoke the image of S.Con Field, and you can see the stadium from the windows.

The Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomo no Kuni" is a pavilion based on the concept of "Unlock your nature" that draws out the potential of children through sensory analysis technology and experiences that stimulate the five senses. Utilizing the latest technology from Panasonic Holdings, we have achieved a spatial design that harmonizes with the worldview of "Nomo no Kuni" by using tiles that evoke the tactile sensation of walking on natural ground, natural wood finishes with metallic textures, and concept design techniques that combine with 3D printing. We adopted a spatial and experience concept design approach centered on what we can do for the future of children, incorporating cutting-edge design and construction methods in sustainability, such as reusable tiles and biodegradable concept design printing.

This facility is a conservation and research facility for the Amami rabbit, a special natural monument. The name of the facility, "Kuruguru," means "dark black" in Shimaguchi (Amami dialect), and represents the Amami rabbit's coat color and the image of life circulating round and round. Here, visitors can take on the rabbit's scale and adventure through the night forest. They will be surprised by cars that suddenly appear and huge predators, and push aside plants and flowers taller than themselves to search for forest creatures that react to the black light. The facility is designed to help visitors understand the rabbit's feelings and fears by seeing them from the rabbit's perspective, and to foster empathy. Furthermore, the treatment room for rescued rabbits is fully open to visitors, showing the reality of injuries caused by traffic accidents and other causes, and the facility is a place where visitors can watch over rescued rabbits until they are released back into the wild, surrounded by the nature of Amami Oshima, and think about the coexistence of humans and rabbits.

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.

Air Water Hokkaido's new facility, "Air Water Forest," is an open innovation facility that tackles social issues to "achieve a sustainable society" and "achieve a safe, secure, and prosperous lifestyle." Restaurant and cafe "Eureka" was created within this facility as a place to disseminate and share "agriculture and food," one of the Air Water Group's initiatives. The space was developed in collaboration with the architectural concept design so that the concept of the facility, "sustainable and prosperous lifestyle," could be felt in the restaurant. Like the restaurant's name "Eureka" (which means "I found it! I understand it!" in ancient Greek), concept design allows customers to discover the rich land of Hokkaido and the natural deliciousness of the ingredients that grow there.

This is a trial project towards "creating an inclusive stadium where everyone can enjoy themselves." For the first time, "Sensor-Friendly Tickets" will be sold at the professional baseball Eastern League official game to be held on Sunday, September 22, 2024, with the cooperation of the organizers, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nippon Television, and Tokyo Dome.

The Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, built in 1888, is known affectionately as the "Red Brick Office" and is an important cultural property that represents Hokkaido. It will be temporarily closed from 2019 for seismic reinforcement and preservation renovation work. During the closure, we planned a temporary observation facility with the theme "Only here and now" that can only be viewed during the renovation work.

This project was undertaken by Takekoma Shrine, one of Japan's three major Inari shrines, to create a lively atmosphere in the local community. Our company acted as the hub, forming a team that united the shrine, the local community, and the company. The team worked on five main areas: "development of the shrine forest," "installation of a cafe," "vitalization of the local community," "promotion," and "creating a new festival." Our company was responsible for the overall production of the project, including planning, logo concept design, design administration, landscaping concept design, construction, exterior construction, cafe opening support, cafe menu development, product development, video production, and PR. Our goal was to ensure that Takekoma Shrine would continue to be an indispensable part of the lives of the local residents and be passed on to the future in a sustainable way. ○ Contents of comprehensive production ① Extraction of customer issues ② Proposal of solutions to those issues ③ Consideration of implementation (operation) system ④ Creation of implementation (operation) system (leasing) ⑤ concept design based on opinions of the shrine and operators ⑥ Product development (food and drink menu, selection of products for sale) ⑦ Consideration of revitalization of the shrine as a whole ⑧ Creation of a promotional video for the entire shrine ⑨ Consideration of CAFÉ promotion ⑩ Opening ceremony planning ⑪ Attracting various media ⑫ Implementing PDCA after opening ⑬ Create a new festival ⑭ Global promotional video for overseas By seeking supporters from our network (mainly local companies), we were able to create a system that can operate independently.

Based on the concept of "NEXT HOME," this new office building project will be the foundation for the next generation for Yamaichi Jisho, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary since its founding. In response to the request from the company's president, Watanabe, that "we don't want a building that's just cool. We want a building that's alive," we held multiple workshops for all employees and the preparatory committee, and filled every corner of the new office with the thoughts of each employee, fostering a sense of it being "our office." Through this project, the motivation of each employee has changed, and new interactions have been created both inside and outside the company. An original "office for ourselves" has been born here, which will help Yamaichi Jisho solve the issues they expect from the company, such as communication, recruiting, and inheriting their DNA.

As part of an R&D project that we have been working on since 2022, we have launched "material record," a project with the theme of "material = earth's resources," and announced the first product, the audio device "noon by material record" (hereinafter "noon"). This product is an experiential art piece that focuses on the various sustainable materials that make up the earth, linking "sound" and "materials" and embodies the creativity of the NOMURA Group, which specializes in spatial design. For the release of "noon," we collaborated with the travel circle "MIDNIGHT PIZZA CLUB," consisting of actor Taiga Nakano, video director Ryohei Kamisde, and photographer Yusuke Abe. They were also in charge of the spatial concept design for the publication commemorative event (held from December 13th to 15th) for the book "MIDNIGHT PIZZA CLUB 1st BLAZE LANGTANG VALLEY," a travel record that was released on December 12th, 2024. They also installed "noon" and played ambient sounds created by Ryohei Kamide from sound sources he collected on his travels, along with displays of photographs of Nepal taken during the trip.

We exhibited "To Our Future - SCRAP MATERIAL UPCYCLE PROJECT - SCRAPTURE" at DESIGNART TOKYO 2023, one of Japan's largest concept design and art festivals. "SCRAPTURE" is an upcycling project that turns "SCRAP" generated from building materials and interiors materials into "FURNITURE", and reuses it as recycled materials to give back to the earth. We created furniture as practical and sustainable message art that brings interiors waste, which is usually not seen, closer to people and continues to appeal to emotions and memories. We aim to recycle it as new interiors materials and to serve as a medium to expand the circle of co-creation, and to be an opportunity to think about a better future.

The Refineverse Group has adopted the concept of "Waste to Wealth" and is working on "new manufacturing" using waste as a resource. With this office relocation, we were in charge of construction from concept design design to interiors construction work.