Maruten Sangyo Participates in Practical Education for Early Job Hunting Era; Student Lounge Designed Collaboratively by 22 Interdisciplinary Chukyo University Students with 3 Companies Reopens

Maruten Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Representative Director: Takayuki Amano) announces the completion of the student lounge renovation project at Chukyo University's Nagoya Campus on March 30, 2026. The company participated in this project alongside Itoki Corporation and Kokuyo Marketing Co., Ltd.

This project is an industry-academia collaboration educational program where 22 interdisciplinary students, not specializing in architecture or spatial design, worked with companies to address issues from discovery to spatial design. The completed lounge has been developed as a "place for students, by students" and will be utilized as a space for breaks between classes, as well as for interaction and learning.

Background

The university environment is undergoing significant changes due to the declining birthrate. Over half of private universities are facing enrollment shortfalls, and competition among universities is expected to intensify further. Furthermore, the spread of internships has led to earlier job hunting, requiring universities to enhance the quality of education and provide practical learning opportunities to remain attractive.

This initiative creates opportunities for students to gain experience close to the real world by engaging in spatial design in collaboration with companies. For universities, it leads to educational differentiation and enhanced appeal, while for students, it provides career development opportunities. It is also a meaningful endeavor for companies, offering exposure to new ideas and a chance to connect with future talent, benefiting all three parties.

Industry-Academia Collaboration Project Involving 22 Interdisciplinary Students

The objective of this project was to renovate four student lounges located across three floors of the Chukyo University Nagoya Campus Center Building, originally completed in 1995. Twenty-two students from various faculties, none specializing in architecture or spatial design, participated. Students from different fields such as Law, Business Administration, and Psychology formed teams assigned to specific companies to work on spatial design.

In May 2025, students received presentations from Itoki, Kokuyo Marketing, and Maruten Sangyo, selected their preferred companies, and formed teams. Over six months, they independently drove the process from issue identification to conceptualizing the spatial design. The designs were finalized in November 2025, and after construction, the lounges opened on March 30, 2026.

Notably, it is a distinctive feature that companies, typically competitors in the office market, came together for an educational project to collaborate with students on renovating student lounges.

Maruten Sangyo Team's Lounge "panoma" Born from Student Voices

The overall concept set by the university was "Crossroads," aiming to create a space where students with different values can meet and generate new ideas and interactions.

The students on the Maruten Sangyo team focused on the ideal of "who," "in what kind of space," and "what kind of activities" could be done in the renovated 6th-floor lounge. They extracted three abstract keywords representing the space's characteristics and usageイメージ: "overlapping," "expanding," and "connecting." Based on these, they established the concept "panoma (ぱの間) - A space that allows you to glance around and feel your heart expand."

・Overlapping: A space for information sharing and activities, where people can naturally spend time comfortably.

・Expanding: An open space where people naturally gather, creating a harmonious and bright atmosphere.

・Connecting: A space where individuals with curiosity and interest can become closer to those around them.

The students not only conceived the spatial layout but also independently considered interior concepts and furniture selection, experiencing a design process akin to the real world as they envisioned a space that would make users feel "bright" and "heart-expanded" at a glance.

Completed Image and Spatial Characteristics

The completed 6th-floor lounge is designed to accommodate students' diverse ways of spending time, while leveraging the panoramic views from the Center Building. A symbolic shared table is placed in the center to naturally draw people together. Around this, areas with varying levels and material changes are developed, creating a composition that evokes a sense of overlapping activities and expansion.

Furthermore, by gently segmenting the space through flooring and furniture arrangement, different activities such as concentration, interaction, and relaxation can coexist simultaneously while allowing occupants to sense each other's presence.

Embodying the concept of "overlapping, expanding, and connecting," the lounge offers high flexibility, allowing each student to choose their preferred spot based on their purpose and mood at the time.

Support for Realizing Student Aspirations in Space

In this project, Maruten Sangyo participated as a "supportive partner" to draw out student ideas and help them materialize into spatial designs.

Through workshop design and dialogue facilitation, they helped students organize their thoughts and words, elevating them into concepts. Furthermore, they supported the process of translating these concepts into concrete spatial compositions and furniture selections.

By taking on the role of "materializing student aspirations into space," rather than merely providing design support, they contributed to the dual goals of fostering independent learning and practical experience.

Looking Ahead - Utilization as a New Space for Students Begins -

The completed lounge began student use on March 30, 2026. For students, the lounge is the most flexible hub on campus, seamlessly connecting "on" (learning) and "off" (rest and interaction) time. It will be widely utilized as a "place for students, by students" going forward.

Further Development of Space Creation Through Co-creation

Maruten Sangyo will continue to create new relationships between people and spaces through co-creation with universities and companies. Emphasizing the process where users themselves are involved in space creation, as in this project, they will promote initiatives that realize "spaces that people want to use" rather than just "spaces that are used."

Comments from Chukyo University Students

"Amidst Chukyo University's many rest areas, we repeatedly tried and tested ideas aiming to create a space that people would want to visit. We hope the lounge we designed will be used as a new place for interaction and a place for focused study." (Project Participant Student: Haruka Yokoi, 1st Year, Faculty of Business Administration)

"All Chukyo students are always looking for a place to spend their free time enjoyably and comfortably. I was one of them, and I strongly reflected my ideal of what a university space should be into my ideas. I pray that this place we conceived will become a cherished spot for many Chukyo students." (Project Participant Student: Daisuke Tokui, 2nd Year, Faculty of Law)

Comments from Chukyo University Project Manager

"The experience of students taking the lead and collaborating with companies in space creation provides practical educational opportunities that cannot be gained solely through classroom learning. We expect this lounge to become a hub for student interaction and learning, and to be utilized as a new gathering place on campus." (Mr. Nimura, Property Management Department, Chukyo University)

Comments from Maruten Sangyo Project Staff

"Involving diverse stakeholders such as students, the university, and companies, we took on the role of connecting everyone's aspirations and objectives to shape the project. As a salesperson, I was once again keenly aware of the importance of creating relationships and value, not just "delivering" a space. We will continue to engage in creating meaningful spaces for our clients through co-creation." (Ryo Ogawa)

"In each workshop, we considered how to set up the students' experiences and learning, and during the preparation period for presentations, how to facilitate consensus among students. Interacting with the students provided an opportunity to think not only about designing the space but also about how to design the project itself." (Meiji Shibata)

Reference Information

・Enrollment Trends for Private Universities and Junior Colleges in Reiwa 7 (2025) (Japan Private School Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation)

https://www.shigaku.go.jp/files/shigan_doukouR7.pdf ※Confirmed by Mr. Yokoyama

・On the Future of Higher Education in Light of Rapid Declining Birthrates (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)

https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20250207-mxt_sigsanji-000040289_05.pdf

・Chukyo University x Itoki x Kokuyo Marketing x Maruten Sangyo: Designs Finalized for Student Lounge Renovation Project, Completed in March 2026, as an Industry-Academia Collaboration

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000010.000119255.html