[stu Co., Ltd.] stu received the world’s three major design awards, “iF DESIGN AWARD 2024.” Developing communication tools that connect local communities and companies
*View in browser* *stu Co., Ltd.*
Press release: March 28, 2024
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stu has won the world’s three major design awards “iF DESIGN AWARD 2024”. Developing communication tools that connect local communities and companies
*Rebranding Kurita Industries’ research facility with a 75-year history. Revamping the conventional image. *
stu Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Takayasu Kuroda), whose mission is to “reinvent entertainment,” has won the world’s three major design awards, “iF
DESIGN AWARD 2024”.
*What is iF DESIGN AWARD*
It is an internationally prestigious design award with the longest history in the world, which started in Germany in 1954, and is one of the three major design awards in the world.
Entries will be judged in nine areas, including originality of design and aesthetic beauty, communication, UX (user experience), and service design.
In 2024, there were over 10,000 entries from 72 countries around the world, which were judged by 132 experts.
* Award-winning work: AQUA⁺ TANK (Aqua Plus Tank) *
The challenge of creating a beautiful and open research facility. A “magic tank” that connects companies and society.
Kurita Innovation Hub is the research and development base of Kurita Industries, whose corporate philosophy is “Explore water and create a rich environment where nature and humans are in harmony.”
At our facility, which aims to create innovation, we thought it would be possible to reinvent the inorganic and closed-off impression that research facilities traditionally have, and came up with the idea of a “magic tank.”
* Create a new landscape. “AQUA⁺ TANK”, a communication tool that connects companies, local communities, and within companies* * Part of the research facility has been turned into a showroom. A new landscape for the region*
Generally speaking, research and development facilities in Japan are designed to give the impression of being closed, dark, and
claustrophobic due to equipment requirements and confidentiality considerations.
We considered what kind of expression would be possible to reflect Kurita Industries’ advanced image in the facility, and how to create an “attractive” production from an entertainment perspective.
We treated the glass-enclosed space that can be seen from the outside of the facility as a showroom, and devised a production that shows an actual water treatment plant (a facility that purifies and treats water) used for training as well as plant operation training scenes. A production team including architectural design and software created a cylindrical LED tank that mimics the water storage tank inside the facility and blends beautifully into the space.
The content projected on the LEDs is linked with the spatial lighting, creating a “new regional landscape” in which the wide space, approximately 70 meters wide, transforms into an aquarium or a stage. *Designed for use as a communication tool*
We have also devised an app system so that employees can easily change the LED video content.
Currently, it is used for a wide range of purposes, including projecting slides for employee training and seminars, displaying the time, and message boards for local residents and visitors.
* Rebranding from an inorganic and closed impression to an organic and open space *
By looking at the magical tank that blends into everyday life, conversations and ideas are born. As a result, the research facility* is a “communicative place that connects companies and society.”* have become.
We are now able to intuitively communicate Kurita Water Industries’ progressive nature and corporate philosophy, and we have received feedback that this has had a great effect on understanding the company among visitors and local residents, and promoting connections between employees.
* From Yoshihiro Yamazaki of Kurita Industries *
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“This was an unprecedented project, involving a variety of
constraints and a large number of people involved, as it was a production of a real water treatment plant.Stu was very grateful to STU for his highly accurate feasibility studies and intensive discussions. We received a beautiful, vivid, and surprising proposal along with supporting evidence.The proposal was realized exactly as it was, and in fact, the actual product was even more beautiful than the presentation.I am filled with surprise and gratitude.”*
This time “iF DESIGN AWARD
2024” award was not only due to its beautiful visuals, but also because of its communication design.
Our mission at stu is to “reinvent entertainment.”
With an entertainment mindset, we will continue to plan and produce visually appealing visuals, as well as design experiences that take into consideration how people who see them will actually act and move their hearts.
About stu Co., Ltd.
With the mission of “reinventing entertainment,” stu is centered on a creative team that creates borderless ideas, and engages in edge tech business in the 5G, We are a company that creates a new era of entertainment by combining content development businesses that incorporate workflow.
Contact: contact@stu.inc
Official website: https://stu.inc/
Official X (old Twitter): https://twitter.com/stuinc_
*About details about this release*
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