Orbray TRAD Received the “GOOD DESIGN® AWARD 2024”
On October 16, Orbray Co. received the globally renowned Good Design® Award, which has been recognized by domestic and international designers for more than 70 years. The award for our Orbray TRAD manufacturing facilities in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, is shared with Nikken Sekkei, the building’s designer, based in Japan. The award committee commented that they selected Orbray’s new facilities not only because we applied good design in renovating an abandoned factory, but also because the design created a new place for local residents and visitors to mingle and enable them to observe high-level craftmanship on the spot.
The Good Design® Award is given in recognition of “a design process that embodies product excellence and endurance and strong public identity,” covering a wide gamut from architecture to daily necessities, as well as services, software, and community activities.
Orbray received the award in the category of Industrial and Commercial Facility. We received the award not only because of the good design of our building. Our factory was also recognized as having a positive impact on people and contributing to the resolution of societal problems.
The population of Japan’s small cities and rural areas has been decreasing and aging at a rapid pace, and Yuzawa City, where Orbray’s manufacturing facilities have been located for many years, is not an exception. Young women are moving out of the region to urban areas, resulting in a drop in the number of marriages and the birth rate, making it more difficult for companies to hire workers in the future. These are the challenges Yuzawa is currently facing.
In response to such issues, Orbray is focusing on creating a workplace where women can continue to work and pursue their careers even if they get married, have children, and take care of their elders. Building new manufacturing facilities in the city is one of our answers.
We have a deep attachment to Yuzawa. About 60 years ago, we chose Yuzawa as the location of our first manufacturing plant outside of Tokyo by responding to an invitation from the Akita Prefectural government. Workers in the Yuzawa region, who have a reputation for being sincere and hard-working amid severe winters with heavy snow, have contributed significantly to our company’s success, enabling us to celebrate Orbray’s 85th anniversary this year.
Given our history, we just can’t look idly at the plight of Yuzawa with its shrinking, aging population. We therefore made up our mind to support the region in cooperation with local governments and help to spur its economy. We plan to move our headquarters to Yuzawa from Tokyo, and hope to prove ourselves as constructive members of the region. We have mapped out a plan of rebuilding old factories sequentially and hiring more workers to strengthen our production capacity.
The construction of a new manufacturing facility in Yuzawa represents our company’s determination to tackle the region’s problems and contribute to its development. The manufacture of record styli and watch parts is one of the core sectors of Orbray’s diversified business, and we have transferred such production to the new Yuzawa factory.
The spread of COVID-19 forced consumers to spend more time at home, which led them to purchase higher-quality stereo sets. This in turn boosted the popularity of records and analogue sound equipment, including record styli. To keep up with the higher demand, we renovated an old factory and created a more worker-friendly environment.
The new manufacturing facilities function not just as a factory but also as a showcase of our craftmanship. However, instead of displaying products on shelves, we allow visitors to observe our veteran workers who handle the exacting, delicate processing of industrial jewels, which are manipulated under microscopes. Visitors can observe them anytime on monitor screens, as such processing is too minute to be seen with the naked eye.
The factory floor is painted in various colors so that visitors can walk through without disturbing the workers. For example, the work areas are painted Orbray blue. A café provides a rest space for workers and is frequented by visitors as well. In the café, we placed benches made of Akita cedar frames, which had a previous life as pallets. We layered the pallets into cubes of 2 meters square and 0.3 meter high, then put urethane cushions on top to make them into benches. Around the tables are chairs made of birch bentwood, a local specialty. The furniture was made to order by Akita Mokko Co., a Yuzawa-based furniture maker.
The café has a high ceiling and is filled with sunshine, enabling everyone to fully relax. The café also has a high-quality stereo system and shelves of records that employees can play.
The interior design of the reception area reflects our company name: “orb” (sphere) and “ray” (light). The walls are painted a relaxing blue-gray, while the ceiling is recessed and oval-shaped, with indirect lightening.
The TRAD factory reflects our concept of a workplace designed with the workers in mind. The Good Design® Award highlights our support of regional economies and the well-being of our employees. We hope that the award will encourage young people to work at this factory.
COMMENTS BY THE Good Design® Award COMMITTEE
This project is not flashy at all, but we believe it is a worthwhile project, supporting a regional city with problems stemming from a shrinking population. With a limited budget and a short construction period, the project features a variety of innovations that result in the renovation of an abandoned factory into a new facility that houses both a new factory and a place for local residents to get together. Thanks to its well-designed painting and paneling, the space has a greater impact than we would expect. It reminds us that good design can have a wide-ranging positive impact on society. We hope other factories will look to this project for inspiration on connecting with the local community.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/22010?years=2024
