Dentsu Live Inc. is Japan's largest event and space specialist company. It plans and operates diverse events, both real and virtual, and also handles spatial design.
This series explores Dentsu Live Inc.'s "Business Transformation (BX) through Experience Design." It examines the potential of treating event operations—often positioned as mere "promotion"—as one approach to BX and leveraging them accordingly.
Each article features a Dentsu Live Inc. member with deep expertise, sharing new possibilities for "events" in business through case studies.
This installment features Taichi Wakayama from the Experience Design Department. We discussed Dentsu Live Inc.'s "experience design," born from the fusion of event and space businesses, using the example of "Shibusawa MIX," an innovation hub in Saitama Prefecture where he is involved.
Leveraging expertise from the event space business for "facility construction and operation"
──First, please introduce yourself.
Wakayama: After working for about 10 years at an architectural design firm on a wide range of projects from residences to offices and government buildings, I joined Dentsu Live Inc. Currently, in addition to spatial design, I work in the field of designing the "experience" itself, focusing on human behavior and emotions. At Shibusawa MIX, I served as the producer, overseeing the entire project holistically and managing it transversally from planning through design, construction, and into the operational phase.
──What does "experience design" mean in Dentsu Live Inc.'s events and space business?
Wakayama: Dentsu Live Inc. handles large-scale events both domestically and internationally, accumulating expertise in gathering people, operational capabilities, and integrated production skills to create spaces by connecting diverse stakeholders. Furthermore, our space business spans not only booth design and pop-up stores for events but also corporate museums, offices, aquariums, and more.
For Dentsu Live Inc., experience design in the space business isn't just about "building the box." What's crucial is the software aspect – how the box (the hardware) is used and experienced by people after it's built.
Drawing on our hands-on experience in event and facility operations, we can incorporate the "operational reality" into the design from the planning stage. We believe this accumulated experience—the ability to plan and execute by integrating hardware and software—is the unique strength and distinctive feature of Dentsu Live Inc.'s experience design in the space business. At Shibusawa MIX, we put this integration of hardware and software into practice.
The 45-degree tilted layout embodies the concept of "encounter, connect, co-create"
──Let's talk about Shibusawa MIX. What kind of facility is it?
Wakayama: It's an innovation hub that Dentsu Live Inc. prepared to open in collaboration with Saitama Prefecture. Directly connected to Saitama Shintoshin Station, it opened in July 2025. "Shibusawa MIX" is Saitama Prefecture's first innovation hub where companies of various industries and sizes, entrepreneurs, universities, research institutions, and government agencies gather to co-create.
In May 2024, Saitama Prefecture issued a proposal for a co-creation facility, and Dentsu Live Inc. was commissioned to handle both the facility construction and its operation for several years. Undertaking the entire scope of facility construction and operation was an uncommon challenge for Dentsu Live Inc.
The name "Shibusawa MIX" originates from Eiichi Shibusawa, a prominent entrepreneur from Saitama Prefecture. Shibusawa was involved in founding approximately 500 companies, aligning perfectly with the facility's concept of "creating innovation." The keyword "MIX" was adopted for the facility name to express the blending of diverse knowledge and experiences. The facility's concept is "Meet, Connect, Co-create."
──In shaping this concept, what design elements were particularly focused on for the space?
Wakayama: The key innovation was adopting a 45-degree angled layout, enabling a design without walls. To foster "encounters," a core concept, we created an open space offering visibility to the facility's edges and facilitating diverse scenarios.
Even while working in the coworking space, you can see events happening. If an event piques your interest, you can join immediately. Furthermore, within this open space, we've incorporated functional areas like lounges, meeting rooms, and a cafe. We've sprinkled in various thoughtful touches designed to bring staff and users closer together, making natural conversations and encounters more likely.
──Is a 45-degree angled layout unusual?
Wakayama: Yes. Typically, rooms and spaces are arranged parallel to the walls within a rectangular space. Placing walls diagonally creates dead space, reducing area efficiency. We adopted the 45-degree layout specifically to create "diverse scenarios."
During our pre-design research, we interviewed users of other co-creation facilities. Many mentioned that simply providing open spaces often fails to foster communication. Furthermore, we discovered that successfully operated co-creation facilities provide diverse places to be—some slightly enclosed, some open. To create such diverse spaces, Shibusawa MIX deliberately adopted a 45-degree tilted layout. This naturally diversifies how the space is used, enabling the creation of various encounter scenarios.
The 45-degree layout also made it possible to avoid walls. While soundproofing walls are typically necessary between event and coworking spaces, we leveraged the angled configuration ( ) to harness the effect of sound reflecting off walls and dampening. This achieves an environment where the liveliness of the event space coexists with the quiet of the coworking space.
We consciously pursued a community-rooted branding message: "Come to Shibusawa MIX, and you'll gain something."
──Now, let's discuss the operational side. What kind of management approach are you pursuing?
Wakayama: Creating mechanisms to attract people to Shibusawa MIX is what occupies my mind the most. Since there are numerous open innovation hubs in Tokyo, differentiating ourselves from Tokyo facilities was a challenge from the planning stage. We consciously pursue consistent, community-rooted branding: "If you come to Shibusawa MIX in Saitama Prefecture, something is happening, you can gain something, and your challenges can be solved." On that foundation, we aim to advance toward the next step of expansion.
We also place particular emphasis on designing two complementary systems: "a system to gather people" and "a system to connect people." For the former, we aim to host events nearly every day, around 20 times a month, to maintain constant activity. We will offer events of diverse themes and scales by combining programs in collaboration with Saitama Prefecture, externally submitted events, and Shibusawa MIX's own initiatives.
For the latter, the "mechanism for connecting people," we have established a system where specialized personnel, such as startup advisors and co-creation coordinators, are permanently stationed, enabling users to consult anytime. Furthermore, community managers actively create touchpoints between users and these specialists, directly facilitating connections when needed. While digital matching is effective, we believe that the "analog touch" of connecting people face-to-face is ultimately the key to sustaining the vitality of such co-creation hubs.
Leveraging Dentsu Live Inc.'s diverse expertise with a long-term perspective
──Tell us about the response after opening.
Wakayama: Starting in early 2025, we held pre-events that also served as PR. On average, each event drew around 100 attendees, clearly showing high anticipation within the prefecture. Regarding the space design, we achieved the intended effect: "Even when working in the coworking space, you don't notice the sounds from events."
We also received many comments like, "I was surprised to see a government facility this stylish, with such a consistent concept." People aiming for new things come to co-creation facilities like this. To meet their needs, we felt the facility itself had to be something unprecedented and challenging.
Saitama Prefecture evaluated the project positively, noting the consistent concept from the planning proposal stage through to the completed facility. Furthermore, while public facility projects often see design changes from the proposal due to cost overruns or changes in requirements, the facility design and operational policy for Shibusawa MIX remained virtually unchanged from the proposal stage. We feel this consistency was also a point of appreciation.
──How do you feel Dentsu Live Inc.'s scope of work expanded through participating in the Shibusawa MIX project?
Wakayama: As mentioned earlier, undertaking the entire process—from facility construction to community-focused operations and monthly event planning and execution—was a new endeavor for Dentsu Live Inc. It represents a shift from short-term thinking, like building facilities or handling one-off events, to adopting a "long-term perspective." This case demonstrates how Dentsu Live Inc. leveraged its diverse expertise to achieve this.
In recent years, both corporations and local governments increasingly recognize the need for "places that foster ongoing relationships, not just temporary ones." Achieving this requires an integrated design perspective that combines hardware and software. Within this trend, the role of the "integrated planner" is gaining attention. Dentsu Live Inc., with its cross-disciplinary experience spanning architecture, space, events, and strategy, holds a significant advantage. Shibusawa MIX exemplifies this strength, further refining it and expanding the "experience design" cultivated in our space business both spatially and temporally.
──Could you share your future outlook regarding Dentsu Live Inc.'s 'experience design'?
Wakayama: The key word is maintaining a "long-term perspective." Looking across Japan, there are many challenges in attracting people and creating vibrancy. We want to pour our expertise into addressing these areas. Going forward, Japan faces worsening regional challenges like population decline, aging, and depopulation. This will drive demand for businesses focused on solving social issues. Dentsu Live Inc., which holistically designs both hardware and software solutions and builds them into experience design with a long-term perspective, holds significant potential in addressing these challenges.
──This series will continue to introduce Dentsu Live Inc.'s initiatives, which drive business transformation by flexibly incorporating the integrated experiential value cultivated in the event and space business domain into business operations.
《Shibusawa MIX Overview》 Name: Shibusawa MIX Location: 5F, ekism Saitama Shintoshin, 4-262-18 Yoshikicho, Omiya-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture Hours: Weekdays 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Saturdays 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM *Excluding Sundays and holidays / Hours may extend for events Facilities: Coworking space, event space, lounge, private booths (meeting spaces), reception, information display area, etc.
[Facility Construction & Operation] Saitama Prefecture Overall Management & Total Production: Dentsu Live Inc. Operation & Management: Dentsu Event Operations Inc., Community Com, Adlib Works Facility Construction: Nitten, Take Architects Logo Design: TM
The information published at this time is as follows.
Events Can Contribute to BX! —Dentsu Live Inc.: Pioneering the Future with Expertise and Creativity [2]
