大阪・関西万博で描く “ものづくり”の未来像。 二人三脚で挑んだ創造の旅

The project officially kicked off in the spring of 2023. Within a limited exhibition space, how should KOBELCO's diverse businesses and technologies that support society be showcased? What kind of experience should be provided to visitors? Days of searching for those answers began.
Young and mid-level employees gathered from various business divisions within the KOBELCO group as an idea team, freely exchanging opinions with NOMURA MEDIAS members from the start. From there, regular meetings were held once a month for about two years. From the initial conception stage, they shared the determination to 'not let it end as a mere industrial exhibition,' and members from both sides continued to face each other seriously.
Mr. Ikeda laughs, saying, "At first, rather than whether it was feasible, we asked them to freely come up with ideas. Many interesting opinions came out, which still leave an impression on me." Asuka Takami, who was in charge of spatial design, looks back: "Contrary to the image of KOBELCO being sincere about technology, they were flexible in their exhibition expressions, and more generous ideas than expected flew around. They actively reacted with 'That's interesting!' even to proposals where we hesitated, wondering 'Is it okay to go this far?' That felt very fresh."
Nodding in agreement is Satoshi Ono, who was responsible for the design and production of the spatial direction. "It was precisely because of our dialogue with KOBELCO that we ultimately arrived at a structure where the visitor's journey unfolds like a single story. To our proposals, they would throw back opinions asking, 'Isn't this what KOBELCO-ness is all about?' That repetition became the soil that deepened our ideas."
In the process of incorporating product elements into the exhibit, Takami struggled with balancing the feasibility of the design and the visitor experience. "KOBELCO's products rarely get seen by us in daily life," she says. "Yet, they are all crucial things that support social infrastructure. How do we convey that invisibility? Through repeated prototyping, we settled on a structure that sparks interest from any angle."
Proposals were brought in at each regular meeting, and new ideas were developed through feedback. While repeating revisions, a common language gradually developed between the two parties. The accumulation of uncompromising trial and error. Through that process, the team's bonds and passion naturally grew stronger, and such a relationship accumulated in the exhibition space.

Transcending the framework of a corporate introduction, KOBELCO's future urban co-sponsor place culminated as an experiential space where visitors could receive "future affluence," designed so that its technology and thinking are naturally communicated through the five senses.
After the opening of the Expo, Yuma Nakakita, an account producer, supported this space from an operational standpoint. Having observed visitors' reactions on-site every day, Nakakita shared a sense of accomplishment, saying, "It became an exhibition where people not only marveled at the technology, but also wanted to share their impressions with their families and friends after experiencing it."
Yoshida also looks back, saying, "At first, I had some anxieties, but after the opening, many people stopped to look at the exhibition. Especially on the first day, when I saw the children engrossed and enjoying the ball coaster, KOBELCO and I were overjoyed, saying, 'We could cry.' At that moment, I truly felt that we had been aiming for the same goal. The theme and target of this exhibition was 'the future.' It was deeply moving that we were able to reach the children who may one day become employees of the KOBELCO Group." Mr. Ikeda also smiled and said, "We were able to share with the people at NOMURA MEDIAS the desire to create a 'place where visitors can feel' rather than just transmit information. Although we are from different companies, I believe we truly created something great as 'one team.'"
Yoshida says, "A new future begins with taking a step forward. And the Expo was a great opportunity to challenge ourselves with that step. These two years of continuing to challenge ourselves to build something never seen before from scratch together with KOBELCO have been a truly invaluable experience. We now feel the importance of 'taking on challenges' with a different weight than we did two years ago. It is a sensation we want to cherish precisely because it has become harder to take on challenges in the modern day."
It took countless adjustments and ingenuity to bring the axis running through the diverse businesses of materials, machinery, and electricity together into a single cohesive experience. However, as a result, the completed space powerfully etched the outline of the future envisioned by KOBELCO.
This was a project that carefully explored the question of what it means to convey the essence of something, in the form of an exhibition. This exhibition space, assembled by many hands, tells the story of how the KOBELCO Group is facing the future through manufacturing. Towards the theme of "The Power to Create Future Prosperity," the questions were: "What should change, and what should not change? What can we do to change, and what can we do to keep things the same?" As a partner who walked alongside the project, NOMURA MEDIAS fully fulfilled its role in shaping and delivering those aspirations. And perhaps, it was a creative journey that went beyond mere business.
The spherical vision and ball coasters exhibited this time are scheduled to be relocated to various locations in Kobe City after the closing of the Expo. The completion of the exhibition space is neither the end of the project for KOBELCO nor for NOMURA MEDIAS. It will be passed on to the future as a trace of an experience that will long remain in the hearts of visitors.