Project manager dedicated to space creation that benefit all parties involved.

Haruka Tashiro of the Cultural Environment Business Division. Since joining the company in 2019, she has worked in sales, proposing and managing projects for public cultural facilities. She has also been involved in social good activities, such as attempting to obtain international forest certification for a project she was in charge of. We spoke to her about the aspirations she has held dear throughout her career.

Leading space creation projects as a sales representative. Seeking new value in space creation.

Tashiro is a manager in the Cultural Environment Business Department of the Sales Promotion Division. He is involved in public cultural facilities such as museums and children's facilities, and is responsible for project development and promotion as a salesperson.

Tashiro: "During the development phase, sometimes customers will come to us for consultations, and other times we will cold call them. Either way, our mission is to first sort out the issues and concerns that customers have that have surfaced, identify the problems that really need to be solved, and propose solutions that we can provide.

In the promotion phase, we manage everything related to the project, including budgets, deadlines, and personnel assignments, based on the client's requests and the internal situation. Projects are dynamic, and the situation changes from moment to moment depending on the phase and the environment. Constantly optimizing these is a constant process of trial and error, but it's satisfying when internal and external parties work well together to move the project forward."

On the other hand, Tashiro says that NOMURA Co.,Ltd. has many unique and appealing qualities.

Tashiro: "NOMURA Co.,Ltd. 's business activities are wide-ranging, from planning design, layout to production, construction, operation, and management. I think the appeal of working with them is that we can be involved in all kinds of creative work related to space creation, from B2B to B2C."

I am currently working towards obtaining an MBA in order to learn management and marketing perspectives, and in the process I learned about a framework called “The Elements of Value”(※).

It consists of 30 value elements that customers want, divided into four stages: 'Functional,' 'Emotional,' 'Life Changing,' and 'Social Impact.' Applying our business to this framework, we feel that we have fertile ground to challenge ourselves to create even more value, depending on the ideas of each individual, as we offer both hardware solutions through design and construction and software solutions through operation and management."

* Eric Almquist, John Senior and Nicolas Bloch, “The Elements of Value”, BAIN & COMPANY, 30 Jan 2023

Facing domestic challenges became a turning point. This led to an interest in space creation cultivated through cross-cultural experiences.

▲ The renovation of the Hamamatsu Children's Museum, which he was in charge of in his second year at the company

Tashiro's interest in the field of space creation began when he was a university student. While majoring in cultural anthropology and studying development studies, a turning point occurred.

Tashiro: "I once had the opportunity to invite a woman living in a slum in Kenya to give a lecture, and after the lecture I showed her around Tokyo. She suddenly asked me, 'Japan is certainly an economically rich country, but are there many happy people?' This unexpected question got me thinking about what a truly prosperous community or town looks like." 

In search of a model for the city of the future, Tashiro headed to Totnes, a small town in southern England. This experience became the starting point for his interest in space creation.

Tashiro: "Totnes is the birthplace of the Transition Town movement, which aims to transition to a sustainable society. This movement aims to move away from a fragile society that consumes large amounts of energy and towards a flexible and resilient society where local people work together to use the appropriate amount of energy. This movement is now spreading all over the world.

Seeing the local people gather and talk so vividly about creating a town that is kind to both the "earth" and "themselves" through an open process, I felt like I had found a clue to solving the challenges that a Kenyan woman had presented to me during my student days.

"I wanted to be involved in creating spaces where these kinds of communities can be born, so I joined NOMURA Co.,Ltd., which handles a wide range of business areas, including the creation of spaces for local community facilities."

Obtaining the company's first international forest certification through space creation and discovering ways to contribute to a recycling-oriented society

▲ The Magical Literature Museum (Eiko Kadono Children's Literature Museum in Edogawa Ward) opened in November 2023.

Since joining the company, Tashiro has worked in sales, mainly in charge of cultural and public facilities. There is one project that left a particularly strong impression on him.

Tashiro: "In my second year at the company, I was put in charge of renovating the Hamamatsu Children's Center. Hamamatsu Children's Center is a public facility that provides an environment where parents can enjoy raising their children. In conjunction with the renovation, the project used Tenryu timber, which is produced in Hamamatsu, and aimed to obtain FSC Project Certification, the world's highest level of forest certification, an unprecedented endeavor for our company."

Tashiro says that obtaining the certification was a process of trial and error, but through teamwork with the Hamamatsu City Forestry Promotion Division and the forward-thinking, highly motivated people at our partner companies, we were able to achieve FSC® Project Certification, the first in Japan for a castle and similar public children's facility, along with the Hamamatsu Castle project, which we were in charge of renovating at the same time.

Tashiro: "Connecting to the right supply chain is a way for us, a company that uses a lot of wood in the manufacturing process and manufactures things together with many partner companies, to contribute to a recycling-oriented society.

I was impressed to discover such a method, and at the same time, I gradually felt a sense of fulfillment knowing that I was concept design an invisible process that contributes to a sustainable cycle. I received a valuable opportunity for insight from the people of Hamamatsu City, who have a strong passion for their facility's philosophy and for utilizing wood.

Later, I participated in a tour of the Tenryu Mountains organized by the Hamamatsu City Forestry Promotion Division, and seeing the forests, which are not only beautiful but also protect the diversity of living things and plants, made me feel very happy that I was able to contribute in some small way. It reminded me once again that I want to create spaces that are good for customers, good for me, and good for the planet."

​The Magical Literature Museum (Eiko Kadono Children's Literature Museum, Edogawa Ward), which also opened in November 2023, is another project that Tashiro will never forget.

Tashiro: "Eiko Kadono is a children's literature author known for 'Kiki's Delivery Service,' and is also a recipient of the International Hans Christian Andersen Award, often called the Nobel Prize of children's literature. I was in charge of displays design and construction project for the literary museum, which aims to pass on her imaginative worldview and achievements to future generations."

The Magical Literature Museum was created as a place where children can freely choose books, pick them up, and enjoy them, thereby nurturing a rich imagination. In the process of creating the Literature Museum, we learned a lot from the invaluable experience of creating an unformed imagination together with many people, including the people of Edogawa Ward, Eiko Kadono, art director Mario Kuboshi, the people at Eiko Kadono's office, architectural firms, landscape design firms, publishers, and our own internal members and partner companies.

The other day, a friend who had a baby recommended the Magical Literature Museum as a place she would like to take her baby when he or she is born, which made me very happy. It is a joy to be involved in creating a space that cultivates sensitivity and seeks out experiences that can only be had in a real place."

Aiming to create multifaceted value that only NOMURA Co.,Ltd. can achieve by leveraging its wide range of business areas.

From 2023, Tashiro will be in charge of project management for displays design and construction of the "(Provisional Name) Shizuoka City Ocean and Earth Comprehensive Museum Development and Operation Project." With the project concept of "Everyone's Campus Connected to Suruga Bay," he is involved in creating a space that conveys the joy of exploring the Earth and the Ocean, aiming for its opening.

Tashiro: "This is the first time our company has participated as the lead company in a PFI project, and we will be responsible not only for displays production but also for the operation of the project for approximately 15 years."
 

Our goal is to create a new type of museum that is not just fun to see and experience, but also encourages activities to protect the future of the Earth and the oceans.

It's certainly not easy, but it's a challenge that only a company like ours, which has decided to take on not only design and production but also operational management, can undertake. We want to leverage our past experience to expand the possibilities of creating win-win-win systems through space creation."

As a member of NOMURA Co.,Ltd., Tashiro's challenge continues as he aims to contribute to multifaceted value creation.
 

*The information provided is current as of January 2024.