The Philosophy Behind L&B's iF Design Award-Winning 'One Tsubo Hug' at the Osaka-Kansai Expo: Space Moves People's Hearts and Enriches Society
L&B Inc., a spatial design company, revealed the design philosophy behind its iF Design Award-winning 'One Tsubo Hug' calm down room installed at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 20:02
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L&B Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tamami Saigusa) has unveiled the design philosophy embedded in "One Tsubo Hug," one of the calm down/cool down rooms installed at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.
L&B is a spatial design company that has won the iF Design Award, one of the world's most prestigious design awards. Its strengths lie in its design ability to express corporate vision through space and a system of consistent partnership from conception to design and construction. In this announcement, under the concept that "space moves people's hearts and enriches society," we convey how we materialized a safe haven on the highly public stage of the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
■ As an iF Design Award Winning Company, Taking the Social Stage of the Expo
iF Design Award 2026 Winning Calm Down/Cool Down Room "One Tsubo Hug"
L&B is a spatial design company that has worked on creating a wide range of spaces, including offices, stores, showrooms, residences, and accommodations. Its strength is in reading the essence of companies and brands and translating them into spaces, working consistently alongside clients from the conceptual stage through design and construction. The spaces they have worked on so far exceed 1,000 locations. This dedication has led to recognition both domestically and internationally, with L&B receiving multiple international design awards, including the iF Design Award.
The iF Design Award, in particular, is an internationally renowned design prize started in 1954 and is one of the global awards recognizing outstanding design.
This time, L&B was involved in "One Tsubo Hug," one of the calm down/cool down rooms installed at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. On a stage where the world gathers, what L&B faced was not simply creating a beautiful space. It was the question of how to implement a place where people can feel safe into society. This space was born as one answer to that question.
■ Space Moves People's Hearts and Enriches Society
Tamami Saigusa, Representative of L&B, has consistently believed that "space moves people's hearts and enriches society." People's behavior changes depending on the environment they are placed in. If the space changes, the way they feel changes. If the way they feel changes, their actions change. And the accumulation of these changes eventually influences organizational atmosphere, human relationships, and even corporate value.
The design L&B envisions is not merely arranging a space beautifully.
It changes people's actions, alters their judgments, and nurtures relationships.
We believe creating such changes is precisely the role of design.
This philosophy thoroughly underpins the "One Tsubo Hug."
What was questioned at the Expo was how to materialize a "safe place."
At an international venue like the Osaka-Kansai Expo, creating an environment where diverse visitors can spend time with peace of mind is required. The "One Tsubo Hug" installed within it was a project that questioned how to create an experience to calm the mind within a limited space.
What we thought about was not the size, but what distance allows a person to feel calm.
- Soft light.
- Materials that suppress stimulation.
- Curves that align with bodily sensations.
By carefully layering these elements, we aimed to design "safety" not as an equipment feature, but as an experience. Reinterpreting the constraint of one tsubo (approx. 3.3 sqm) not as a lack of space, but as the optimal distance to be enveloped, was the starting point for the concept of "One Tsubo Hug."
There is no single correct answer for everyone. That is why the conditions required for a calm down space with defined value differ depending on the person. Some need brightness, while others feel calmer with subdued light. Some need silence, while others feel safer with a slight connection to the outside.
Therefore, rather than trying to cater to everyone with a single space, L&B placed importance on clarifying who the space is for and what kind of safety it delivers.
In this space, we focused on the value of "a sense of safety like being enveloped."
This embodies L&B's philosophy itself: designing space not as a "box for everyone," but as a purposeful experience.
■ At the Heart of L&B is the Concept of "Design x Management"
At the center of L&B's proposals is "Design x Management." L&B views space not as a cost, but as an investment that shapes a company's future. Even in market definition documents, L&B positions the target market as a "group of companies starting to view space not as a 'cost' but as an 'investment.'"
L&B is a spatial design company that has won the iF Design Award, one of the world's most prestigious design awards. Its strengths lie in its design ability to express corporate vision through space and a system of consistent partnership from conception to design and construction. In this announcement, under the concept that "space moves people's hearts and enriches society," we convey how we materialized a safe haven on the highly public stage of the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
■ As an iF Design Award Winning Company, Taking the Social Stage of the Expo
iF Design Award 2026 Winning Calm Down/Cool Down Room "One Tsubo Hug"
L&B is a spatial design company that has worked on creating a wide range of spaces, including offices, stores, showrooms, residences, and accommodations. Its strength is in reading the essence of companies and brands and translating them into spaces, working consistently alongside clients from the conceptual stage through design and construction. The spaces they have worked on so far exceed 1,000 locations. This dedication has led to recognition both domestically and internationally, with L&B receiving multiple international design awards, including the iF Design Award.
The iF Design Award, in particular, is an internationally renowned design prize started in 1954 and is one of the global awards recognizing outstanding design.
This time, L&B was involved in "One Tsubo Hug," one of the calm down/cool down rooms installed at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. On a stage where the world gathers, what L&B faced was not simply creating a beautiful space. It was the question of how to implement a place where people can feel safe into society. This space was born as one answer to that question.
■ Space Moves People's Hearts and Enriches Society
Tamami Saigusa, Representative of L&B, has consistently believed that "space moves people's hearts and enriches society." People's behavior changes depending on the environment they are placed in. If the space changes, the way they feel changes. If the way they feel changes, their actions change. And the accumulation of these changes eventually influences organizational atmosphere, human relationships, and even corporate value.
The design L&B envisions is not merely arranging a space beautifully.
It changes people's actions, alters their judgments, and nurtures relationships.
We believe creating such changes is precisely the role of design.
This philosophy thoroughly underpins the "One Tsubo Hug."
What was questioned at the Expo was how to materialize a "safe place."
At an international venue like the Osaka-Kansai Expo, creating an environment where diverse visitors can spend time with peace of mind is required. The "One Tsubo Hug" installed within it was a project that questioned how to create an experience to calm the mind within a limited space.
What we thought about was not the size, but what distance allows a person to feel calm.
- Soft light.
- Materials that suppress stimulation.
- Curves that align with bodily sensations.
By carefully layering these elements, we aimed to design "safety" not as an equipment feature, but as an experience. Reinterpreting the constraint of one tsubo (approx. 3.3 sqm) not as a lack of space, but as the optimal distance to be enveloped, was the starting point for the concept of "One Tsubo Hug."
There is no single correct answer for everyone. That is why the conditions required for a calm down space with defined value differ depending on the person. Some need brightness, while others feel calmer with subdued light. Some need silence, while others feel safer with a slight connection to the outside.
Therefore, rather than trying to cater to everyone with a single space, L&B placed importance on clarifying who the space is for and what kind of safety it delivers.
In this space, we focused on the value of "a sense of safety like being enveloped."
This embodies L&B's philosophy itself: designing space not as a "box for everyone," but as a purposeful experience.
■ At the Heart of L&B is the Concept of "Design x Management"
At the center of L&B's proposals is "Design x Management." L&B views space not as a cost, but as an investment that shapes a company's future. Even in market definition documents, L&B positions the target market as a "group of companies starting to view space not as a 'cost' but as an 'investment.'"