The Innovation Center is a place that aims to transform business and solve social issues by using digital technology. Against the backdrop of a decrease in visitors due to the spread of hybrid work styles under the pandemic situation, this project has been launched to update this facility from a place of dissemination focusing on technology exhibitions to a place of collaborative creation where real and digital technologies are fused together.
The concept is "maximizing the value of the experience". It is a space where interactive digital contents coexist in a comfortable hotel lounge-like space. It has multipurpose space and labs for everything from daily meetings to various events and information dissemination, a lounge for conversations with business partners, and a gallery where information can be accessed through interactive operations that follow people's movements. Data visualization, which comprehensively visualizes the information stored in the database, brings about a constantly new experience as the information is updated. Various types of data are represented as nodes, and the visuals of these organically connected nodes represent the " network" of NTT DATA.
The key element of the space design is the "Innovation Curve," one of NTT DATA's visual identities and the upper left shape of the initial "N" in the corporate logo. The wall art at the entrance is composed of over 2,000 pieces of Japanese cedar wood, and the 3D data generated by a proprietary algorithm based on the "Innovation Curve" is processed by a 3-axis digital woodworking machine. The components are nested in a structure of smallest "pieces" and "units" composed of those pieces, and each basic unit of 36 squares is made into a panel, which can be detached for future relocation.
The shadows created by the minute changes in the unevenness manipulated by the algorithm accentuate the beauty of the wood's texture, and the design composition of small pieces and large graphics created by combining them represents the company's stance of creating new value using big data. The same design is also applied to glass film, which is programmed to semi-automatically control the design and transparency. 4 layers of film are created by printing embossed clear ink and white ink on a single sheet of glass film, which is then applied to the front and back of the glass. The combination of each ink, with and without printing, creates a total of 16 different expressions.
By applying the "Innovation Curve" to various spatial elements and visualizing NTT DATA's uniqueness in the design, the corporate brand can be felt throughout the facility. In addition, the use of reflective materials throughout the building creates a relationship where real and imaginary images cohabit, metaphorically expressing the fusion of the real and digital worlds.