NewNormDesign and Hakuten Announce Joint Development

NewNorm Design Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, NND) and Hakuten Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, Hakuten) have entered into a joint development agreement for a system to visualize the resource circulation rate in architectural projects, aiming to contribute to the more sustainable development of the construction industry.

In this joint development, Hakuten's developed mechanism for visualizing resource circulation rate will be implemented into NND's architectural circularity platform "matinno". This will expand the functionality of "matinno", enabling users to more efficiently calculate the resource circulation rate in architectural design.

Moving forward, NND and Hakuten plan to proceed with phased improvements through demonstration tests for enhancing the system's functionality and usability, and will also conduct joint marketing activities to promote its widespread adoption.

Regarding this joint agreement, Ryosuke Suzuki, Manager of Hakuten's Sustainability Promotion Department and General Manager of the Circular Design Room, stated: "Imagine creating a beautiful and functional space with the concept of resource circulation, where that philosophy is conveyed. Measuring and disclosing the actual circulation rate of that space or event enhances the convincingness and persuasiveness of its concept. Furthermore, through this joint development with NND, we will be able to disclose these results and analyses, and carry over specific methods and hints for improvement to the next initiative. We believe that the accumulation of such verification and sharing will create new practices and become a catalyst for accelerating the realization of a circular society."

Fara Talaiye, CEO of NND, also commented: "I am truly energized by the prospect of matinno and Hakuten collaborating to tackle the complex challenges of the circular economy and reporting. There is a significant gap between the desire to be sustainable and the ability to prove its impact with concrete data, and this collaboration feels like the missing piece of that puzzle. By merging matinno's innovative design methodologies with Hakuten's expertise in communication and space, we are not just talking about 'closed loops,' but actively building the infrastructure to quantify them. I am very much looking forward to this partnership empowering companies to overcome obstacles in evaluating their own brand's sustainable design and materials, and to move towards truly transparent circular models. True sustainability in architecture is something we can only achieve by working together."

Since its conceptualization in 2018, "matinno", which has undergone research and demonstration as a SaaS platform for sustainable building materials, was officially launched in January of this year, and a two-week free trial is currently available through the official website below.

matinno Official Website https://matinno.co

What is the Resource Circulation Rate Visualization System? "Resource circulation rate visualization" for events and spatial design is a method for measuring and visualizing the circularity of resources in events and spatial design, based on the Circular Transition Index (CTI) established by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). In this measurement, the "Circular Inflow Rate", which indicates the proportion of renewable resources out of all resources procured for the event or spatial design, and the "Circular Outflow Rate", which indicates the proportion of renewable resources actually recovered out of all resources discharged, are calculated. Furthermore, based on these, a weighted average is calculated to derive the "Material Circularity Rate", an indicator of the overall circularity of resources. This indicator allows for the quantitative evaluation of the actual degree of circularity achieved by events and spatial designs that implement circular design. It also provides insights into the inflow and outflow of resources.