It would be nice if co-creation partners are always in the same space.
And the design of that space affects the quality of communication.
First of all, please tell us about the origin of the FS CREATION?
The specific reason is that Professor Makoto Fujita, who won the Wolf Prize Chemistry Division Award, also known as a preparatory battle for the Nobel Prize in 2018, and became the third professor at the University of Tokyo, was retired from the end of 2022, and Mitsui Fudosan proposed to use Link Lab Kashiwa-no-ha as a research base. For the past five years, we have been promoting industry-academia collaboration as one of the University of Tokyo's "Social Collaboration Courses" at the University of Tokyo. The concept of “link Lab Kashiwa-no-ha” “open innovation hub through industry-academia collaboration” was perfectly in line with our objectives. That's why we launched "FS CREATION".
What was the reason why Dr. Sato decided to work on industry-academia collaboration?
When I became a teacher, about one or two companies a year had joint research with companies, but it was honest that it didn't work very well. It wasn't a feeling of "happy!" However, after that, I moved to Tohoku University and decided to collaborate with a certain company. I was assisting the whole project, but I realized that this was going very well. There, a relationship that allows people to work together and discuss free discussions. At that time, I knew that this would work well, and conversely, if we didn't do so far, we wouldn't have any success to win-win. This experience has led to FS CREATION.
When you visit FS CREATION, the glass-filled space is very impressive.
Is such an experience used in this space design?
Yes, that's right. The laboratory, which became the research base for industry-academia collaboration at Tohoku University, which I just talked about, was a very elaborate space. Originally, synthetic laboratories tend to become a closed space, and there was a preconception that it was such a thing between the creator and the user. However, the laboratory at Tohoku University is glass-covered and has a good view, and it is safe. For example, if you look at the other person's appearance through the glass, you can see if it's time to talk now. It's easy to talk to and have bloody conversations. At that time, I learned that co-creation partners should always be in the same space, and that the design of that space affects the quality of communication.
Therefore, in order to build FS CREATION on the 6th floor of Mitsui Link Lab Kashiwa-no-ha, we conducted architectural design and concept design in collaboration with Kimiki Mochizuki of the "Architectural Building Office" where the laboratory of Tohoku University was built.
Click here for more information (link to the Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City site).
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※Link to the Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City website.