Works#Sustainability

Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden opened in 1924 as Japan's first public botanical garden, and will celebrate its 100th anniversary on January 1, 2024. To mark the 100th anniversary, the garden has developed a new acorn forest area called "Dongreen Lab" in the garden. The area is a 3,000 square meter area in the center of the garden, where more than 10 types of acorn trees, including konara oak and sawtooth oak, are collected from all over the world. The garden has a bear-shaped "acorn post" that allows children to actually pick up acorns and feel their shape and smell, and a "highlight caption" that allows children to feel the diversity of acorns, allowing them to learn about the ecosystem while touching various types of acorns. The collected acorns will also be used in workshops within the garden and as gifts for the bears at Kyoto City Zoo.

In order to improve the satisfaction of building tenants, we renovated the entrance and cafe space on the second floor of the Tokyo Tatemono Sendai Building. We were involved from the planning and basic concept stages, and were responsible for interiors and environmental design, sign and graphic concept design, environmental features, and construction.

MIRAI-Bit is a website where you can experience online on your personal device some of the content related to the permanent displays of Miraikan, which will be reopened in November 2023, including "Aging Park," which allows you to experience the aging that everyone experiences; "Nanairo Quest," which focuses on a future in which robots and humans live together; and "Planetary Crisis," which is about the global environment. In addition, we are running a traveling exhibition in various locations so that science museums and other facilities across the country can experience MIRAI-Bit. We were in charge of creating the content and designing and construction the traveling displays fixtures.

This was a project to plan, design and construction an employee lounge for office tenants in Shinjuku Center Building. We participated in this project from the upstream stage, proposing business planning, basic concepts, operational support, and concept naming. We responded with concept design that took into consideration the possibility of repurposing the space in other areas (vacant lots) as a place for demonstration experiments.

"CITY CIRCUIT TOKYO BAY" is an entertainment facility that combines motorsports and technology, with the largest urban circuit in Japan centered on EV (electric) karts and the only circuit course in Tokyo's 23 wards. This facility uses dedicated EV racing karts and simulators to provide a full-scale urban racing experience on outdoor and indoor courses. The indoor course is a space where motorsport fans and families can enjoy all day long, in addition to productions that utilize projection mapping. Our mission is to deliver a new urban circuit experience to everyone by utilizing EVs and other technologies, promote well-being through next-generation mobility, and contribute to the SDGs by realizing a sustainable society using EVs. As a joint planning company, we handle a wide range of areas, from business planning to adding value after operation. In the future, we will work with TOM'S to expand this business nationwide in order to expand mobility entertainment.

Orque d'Or Salon AOYAMA is a members-only salon for the wealthy run by Tokai Tokyo Financial Group. Planned in Aoyama as the third location following Nagoya in 2016 and Nihonbashi, Tokyo in 2019, the facility has been created with the concept of a new "social space that stimulates the curiosity of adults" that connects "wealthy" members with "start-up entrepreneurs". Aiming to create a salon that welcomes more customers with multifaceted and memorable surprises, we have created a one-of-a-kind atmosphere where you can enjoy spatiality, art, sustainability, and craftsmanship.

The event was held at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, sponsored by Mitsui Fudosan and Discover Japan, with the aim of creating an opportunity to think about a society that can live sustainably with greenery. It was a real event based on the theme of "Living with Wood," a special feature in the magazine "Discover Japan" published in August 2023. The atrium on the first floor was used as an introduction area to symbolize this event. In order to create a space that envelops the woodcarvings, we adopted the concept of "how to interact with wood," which is experienced with the five senses while being surrounded by the scent, sound, and light of wood. We were in displays of the design, layout, and construction of this spatial production. In addition, a panel exhibition in the underground passage of Tokyo Midtown Hibiya introduced our R&D activities, "concept design by Thinking with Hands" and displays actual prototypes.

This is an displays project for the Panasonic Group Booth at CES 2024. At CES 2024, we were in charge of the overall design, layout by the Panasonic Group in three categories: "Sustainable Energy (reducing CO2 emissions)," "Circular Economy (circular manufacturing)," and "Resource Optimization." In addition, we displays the latest products and solutions that will help improve the "quality of life" of each individual.

"Marunouchi Street Park" has been running in Tokyo's Marunouchi Nakadori since 2019 as a demonstration experiment of future area management that transforms "road space" into a comfortable "urban park space." Based on the concept of "Popping Summer Street - Marunouchi Nakadori where visitors can feel the summer and get excited," verification items included collaboration with initiatives that are in line with the times and trends, such as rugby and SDGs, setting up tables equipped with wind and solar power generation capabilities, and creating a venue for musical performances that involves local workers and visitors.

NOMURA exhibited a booth at the SC Business Fair 2024, the largest event in the industry where shopping center personnel gather together. The event was held at the Pacifico Yokohama displays Hall for three days from January 24 to 26, 2024, and in addition to exhibiting at a booth, we also held a free seminar on the first day of the event. The theme of this booth was "NOMURA 's Idea of Sustainable concept design." As part of our social good R&D activities, we are currently working on creating a "Sustainable concept design Manner Book" that realizes design, functionality, and environmental friendliness, and our booth was designed in accordance with the basic principles of the manner book. As sustainability efforts become more diverse, we are also continuing to take on various challenges, such as developing upcycled materials. However, this time, we have focused on understanding the characteristics of basic materials, which are indispensable materials for constructing spaces and will continue to be deeply involved in the future. The basic materials used were wood, cement, acrylic, copper, and iron. The square timbers were arranged in a grid pattern, but the space was given an undulation, allowing visitors to walk around and enjoy conversation. The ratio of the number of pieces of each material used was calculated based on the embodied carbon emissions over the life cycle of the building, and the characteristics of the materials were visually conveyed. In addition, the design symbolizes the idea of essential environmental contribution, as the secondary use of materials is possible and waste at the time of demolition is drastically reduced by using clamps (※) instead of screws or adhesives for connection. We aimed to concept design a booth that would allow visitors to think about future approaches to sustainable concept design together with us, and that would allow visitors to gain new realizations and discoveries while showing their responsibility and gratitude for materials. *We have used the dedicated clamps from the "Tsunagi" project, planned and produced by Nikken Sekkei.

Building 15 of Sophia University's Yotsuya Campus is based on the theme of "turning the city into a forest," and aims to contribute to achieving the SDGs and realizing a carbon-free society, as well as to become a sustainable landmark for the region. It opened in the fall of 2022 as a base for adult education and community interaction. The three-story wooden building was designed and construction by Sumitomo Forestry, and is a fire-resistant structure. The main structural parts are made of "Kigurumi FR®," an original pure wood fire-resistant laminated lumber made from cedar from Tama. The facade, which is covered with crisscrossing wooden lattices, is concept design to express "diversity," "interaction with others," "truth," and "tradition," which are linked to Sophia University's founding principles. The first floor will operate a cafe that is open to the public, and as part of community contribution activities, the space will be provided to nearby neighborhood associations as a disaster prevention warehouse. The second and third floors are also used as classrooms for the "Professional Studies" course for working adults. We were responsible for design, layout, and construction of the third floor, which is used as a classroom for working adults. We aimed to create a space that would be a place to gather, learn from each other, and talk, and to foster concept design. We also linked the story of the architecture to the materials that make up the space, using Nishikawa timber (cedar and cypress) from Hanno, which, together with materials from Tama, helped build the city of Edo.

Nishio Rentall, a comprehensive rental company focusing on construction machinery and event materials, has opened a research and development facility in Osaka to carry out technology development and demonstration experiments to advance sharing solutions in preparation for the Osaka/Kansai Expo to be held in 2025. It was built on the island. In the area of Building A-1, which we were in charge of, there is a pedestrian deck connecting the nearest station, Cosmo Square Station, and the Osaka Prefectural Sakishima Government Building, which is open to anyone including nearby residents other than employees. I was in charge of the shared space space and lobby that serves as the facility's reception desk.

L'Oreal Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the world's largest cosmetics company, L'Oreal Group, has undergone its first major renovation since relocating its headquarters to Shinjuku Park Tower in 2006. The renovated office, named "Beauty Valley" based on the concept of "En", is imbued with the desire to create a place where beauty is born that connects the country of Japan, customers, business partners, and employees. The four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) are used as concept design themes for each area, and Japanese craftsmanship is used in furniture and decorations, incorporating Japanese beauty throughout. In addition, about 4,400 of the company's products, including about 60 types of eye shadow, foundation, and lipstick, were upcycled and used for paint, light shades, tiles, etc. In pursuit of sustainable beauty, the company has installed product display fixtures similar to those in stores, fully expressing L'Oreal's beauty. In addition, the office has been designed with attention to detail in light, sound, materials, etc., and in accordance with LEED standards, an international certification for sustainable buildings that guarantees energy efficiency and waste management. Our company participated in this project as the general construction company for interiors.

This project involved the renovation of River City 21 Shinkawa, a tower residence with 505 units completed in 1995. The property is located in a riverside location facing the Chuo Ohashi Bridge along the Sumida River, with an attractive view of nature and openness. The Chuo Ohashi Bridge, which spans the foot of the condominium, is lit up at night and is known as a landmark of the Tsukuda area. A promenade has been developed along the Sumida River, making it a place of relaxation for local residents to go for walks and jogs. The residences are available in a wide range of plans, from 1R/1K for singles to 2LDK, and there are many unique floor plans, such as Japanese-style rooms with Ryukyu tatami mats and plans with spacious stock rooms. Following a change of ownership, we were commissioned to design and construction this pioneering bayside tower condominium, a property with high potential for nature and city coexistence, with our mission of adding value that is in line with the current era.

This project is an upcycling activity that complements and displays "scrap" generated from building materials and interiors materials as "furniture," reuses them as recycled materials, and gives back to the earth. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the amount of industrial waste generated in Japan in fiscal year 2020 is 373.82 million tons* per year, and nearly 1 million tons of scrap is generated per day. We, the creators who come into contact with various materials in our concept design work every day, felt that it was our responsibility to take the lead in spreading the message of recycling the earth's limited resources to society and the local community. We formed a team of young creators within the company to plan and manage the project as a social contribution activity. We enclosed and complemented the shredded waste materials in a transparent skin made of recycled vinyl as furniture, and displays to appeal to the message with an art displays-like expression, and toured offices and public spaces both in Japan and overseas. After a certain period of displays, the materials will be returned to interiors and construction site as interiors resources, and the next waste material will be enclosed, supplemented, and displays in a traveling sustainability project. In order to reach as many people as possible, a launch displays was held in the entrance space of the company's office to solicit sponsoring companies, and it has received support from many sponsoring companies, local people, and educational institutions. The exhibition is based on an interiors concept that allows anyone to intuitively grasp the message, by allowing people to "see, learn about, and touch" "interior waste materials" that are not seen in everyday life, and to displays as a "trigger" for thinking about a better future and a sustainable society. *Source: Ministry of the Environment, "Total Emissions in 2020"