{"id":440,"date":"2022-06-22T16:03:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T07:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workmill.jp\/en\/?post_type=webzine&p=440"},"modified":"2023-09-04T18:14:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T09:14:47","slug":"nosigner-office-sustainability-20220622","status":"publish","type":"webzine","link":"https:\/\/workmill.jp\/en\/webzine\/nosigner-office-sustainability-20220622\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability Embodied in NOSIGNER’s New Office – Turning Waste Into Construction Materials On the Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NOSIGNER embodies the possibilities of social design across different fields, such as product, architecture, and graphic design. The company has engaged in co-creation with various companies and local governments through projects such as \u201cDisaster Preparedness Tokyo,\u201d a manual to help prepare for disasters, and the social distancing signage \u201cSOCIAL HARMONY.\u201d NOSIGNER has now opened a new office on May 2021. The spaces of the office are composed of light gauge steel framing, tiles partly made of waste materials, and industrial aluminum foil, embodying the ideal of sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The companies’ Representative Eisuke Tachikawa joins us today to talk about the history behind the opening of the new office, the philosophy behind the new office design, and suggestions on how to realize sustainability. The first half of the interview will focus on the motivation behind using waste materials for spatial design, the work style that such an office makes possible, and the strategy of permaculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping Environmental Burden to a Minimum by Reusing Waste Materials<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WORK MILL\uff1aI was very eager to come and visit when I heard that you had opened a new office. The location is excellent, close to both the East Gate of the Yokohama Chinatown and the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TACHIKAWA : I was always attracted to this place, even back when this used to be a yoga studio. It has a roof deck with lots of light, and you can feel the changing of the seasons. Then, I heard that this space would be available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NOSIGNER<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2500Eisuke Tachikawa<\/strong>
NOSIGNER Representative \/ JIDA President \/ Creator of Evolution Thinking \/ Design Strategist \/ Keio University Guest Associate Professor
Eisuke Tachikawa is a design strategist who designs alternatives for a hopeful future and aims to renew creativity education. In order to foster change-makers in various sectors of industry, academia, and government, he advocates “Evolution Thinking,” which tells the essence of creativity from the natural phenomenon of biological evolution, and continues to work to spread creative education. He crosses the boundaries of design fields such as product design, graphic design, and architecture to create successful comprehensive strategies for numerous projects dealing with next-generation energy, regional revitalization, and SDGs.
He has won over 100 design awards worldwide, including the Good Design Gold Award (Japan) and DFA Design for Asia Grand Award (Hong Kong), and served as a judge at various award ceremonies such as Good Design Award, DIA (Design Intelligence Award), DFAA (Design for Asia Award), and WAF (World Architecture Festival). Some of his most famous projects include OLIVE, Tokyo Bousai, PANDAID, YAMAMOTOYAMA, Yokohama DeNA BayStars, YOXO (Yokohama, Japan), and the concept of the Japan Pavilion at the OSAKA, KANSAI EXPO 2025.
He is the writer of “Design and Innovation – 50 ways to create the future” (Pie International, 2016) and “Evolution Thinking” (Ama no Kaze, 2021) which won the YAMAMOTO SHICHIHEI Prize, Japan’s leading academic award selected by biologists and economists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TACHIKAWA : We have been based in Yokohama for a long time and we believe in the importance of working close to home. We think it is inefficient for our employees to spend a long time commuting, so we provide housing benefits to those who choose to live near the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I live in this area as well. My children will most likely be going to a school nearby, so I am prepared to live here for at least 10 more years. That was when I found out about this place. I thought that it was destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Remains
Remains of the light gauge steel framing from the wrecking operation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
No post is specified.<\/div>\n\n\n

So I went for a viewing after the yoga studio moved out. It was right after the building was wrecked and I saw a large amount of light gauge steel framing littered on the floor. Light gauge steel framing is used to stabilize plasterboards and calcium silicate boards. They are a commonly used material in interior construction. Normally, they are immediately collected and then disposed of as waste or heat treated at a processing plant and partially recycled, but doing so involves a tremendous amount of transportation and energy costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought it would be a kind of case study if we could reuse and upcycle these materials as they are, rather than dispose of them or recycle them. This place alone had two tonnes of light gauge steel framing, so who knows how much of these materials are in this city, let alone Japan as a whole. If there was some way that we could utilize these materials, then it could lead to lessening the environmental burden in each city. That is why, for our new office, we decided to implement the idea of \u201cspatial design that turns waste into construction materials on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WORK MILL\uff1aOne thing that stands out is the light gauge steel framing running along the ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n

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