The Group Business Leading Office is a department that aims to increase the corporate value of our group and communicate the appeal of our company to the world from various angles. For example, we work to obtain the Good Design Award for the appeal of our business, and to materialize the ideas and thoughts of our employees in the form of "Pic", a new business launch project.

The road to receiving the Good Design Award takes one year. The Good Design Award winners are announced in October or November, so planning meetings for the next Good Design Award begin immediately after the previous award is over.
The process is as follows: come up with ideas for the Good Design Award, then narrow them down, refine each idea before submitting it to the Good Design Award, and finally submit the idea.
When coming up with ideas for the Good Design Award, we brainstorm together as a team. We exchange opinions from each team member's perspective. We come up with 1,000 to 2,000 ideas every year, so the total number of meeting hours exceeds 600 hours. I'm relatively young on the team, so I'm conscious of new values.
The GOOD DESIGN AWARD has a set theme every year. Teams expand on that theme. For example, the theme for 2023 was "Design with Outcomes." Teams expand on the idea by asking themselves, "Why did they choose that theme?" and reexamine the current social situation and social issues that lie behind it. Having a theme for the GOOD DESIGN AWARD also provides an opportunity to research what is needed in the world.

Our group's first GOOD DESIGN AWARD was won in 2013 by Takara Leben before it changed its name, for the "RUIC Project" and "Sora Power Project". Since then, our group has received more than 20 GOOD DESIGN AWARDs. Among them, the "CUBE Plan", which won in 2023, creates a spacious and highly independent space in a corner of a detached house, which can be used by residents as a hobby space or a workspace for work, and when the residents are not using it, it can be offered (lend) as a rental space to neighbors.
The plan is designed with space in mind, assuming it will be rented out, so the traffic flow of the family is separate from that of the rental space, resulting in a high level of independence and a design that takes into consideration each other's convenience and privacy.The space is designed to allow for retrofitting, so it can be converted into a shared kitchen, food corner, store, mini sauna room, etc., allowing you to add business to your life by renting out the space while building your future assets without changing your daily life.

In urban areas, where demand for housing is strong and diverse lifestyles are embraced, many rental spaces are provided for hobbies and work, meeting the needs of many people. On the other hand, in suburban areas, although there is a similar need, there are not many rental space businesses, and the demand is not being met. Even in suburban areas, where there is relatively more space in terms of land and living space compared to urban areas, it is not easy to have your own space or an independent space where you can concentrate. Therefore, we thought that we could meet this need by providing homes with rental spaces in detached housing developments, which are often shared in the suburbs. CUBE is imbued with the desire to propose and provide diverse lifestyles not only to owners living in Takara Leben homes, but also to people living in the surrounding areas, and to lead to regional revitalization.
Another point that was made possible was that the idea of CUBE was more suited to detached houses than to condominiums. In a condominium, there are concerns about risk hedging if the system is installed in every unit. On the other hand, detached houses are self-contained in each building, so they were very attractive in terms of "trying out an idea."

Unlike condominiums, detached houses have the advantage of having land. You can take advantage of the land and use it as your own room or a hobby room, and you can also rent out the space. I think it's a new style of detached house that can also provide you with income.
Since independence can be guaranteed to a certain extent, privacy is also high. It can be rented and can also be used flexibly as a hobby space. It can be used freely for a wide range of purposes such as classrooms and community spaces. It comes with a business support package, so I think it is a house that matches the current values.

When the idea for the "CUBE Plan" first came up, I thought it would be quite difficult to put into practice. I thought it would be interesting if it was available as one of the options for detached house plans. Leben Home Build Leben Home Build working alongside us to implement this project, we were able to actually implement this plan and sell it. In terms of the design, we needed to make a lot of adjustments when taking out the mortgage. We were able to make it happen thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the many people involved and the partner companies who worked with us until it became a reality.
I was very happy to hear that the visitors to the event had a positive response.