Toshiba Lifestyle, which operates a business centered on home appliances, opened a new base, "Tokyo Design Center (TDC)" in Shibuya in August 2025. The new design philosophy is "Design for Center of Life." The aim is to use the power of design originating in Shibuya to focus on the "center" of people's lives and support their prosperity. We spoke with TDC Director Takuyuki Miyazawa about the background to the creation of the new base and its vision for the future.

With the aim of strengthening our global reach, we have relocated our design base to Shibuya.

First, please explain Toshiba Lifestyle's business.

Toshiba Lifestyle has been developing its business mainly in home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and rice cookers. In 2016, it became part of China's Midea Group. The Midea Group has consistently maintained a stance of respecting and enhancing the value of the Japanese brand "Toshiba," and as part of this, our company is positioned as a "premium brand" within the group. By combining the Midea Group's strengths as a global company, such as production efficiency and speed, with the quality and design of "Made in Japan," we will evolve into a more competitive brand - this fusion is our current major strategy.

A new base, "Tokyo Design Center (TDC)," will open in Shibuya in August 2025. What are your aims and vision for this?

Our design base was originally located within our headquarters in Kawasaki, but we have now decided to relocate to Shibuya. The reason behind this is that we believe that design is the trigger for promoting the Toshiba brand globally. After careful consideration of the most suitable location for creating and promoting such designs, we ultimately decided on Shibuya.

The influence and diversity of Shibuya is the driving force behind the evolution of the brand.

What was the reason for choosing Shibuya?

There were several candidates for the relocation site, and we also considered the Tokyo Bay area, such as Shibaura, where Toshiba is named. One of the reasons we decided that Shibuya was the most suitable was because it is a city that is always at the forefront of the times as a source of fashion and culture. We thought that by setting up a base in such an environment, we would be able to have a stronger influence and increase the brand's presence.

Shibuya is also a city that is extremely well-known overseas. As symbolized by the scramble crossing, it is a place that can be said to be the "face of Tokyo" known to people all over the world. We would like to use this international communication power to communicate the new image of the Toshiba brand.

Another factor is that Toshiba Lifestyle is currently working to "rejuvenate" its brand. Toshiba's home appliances have a strong image of being popular with older generations, and there has been an issue of them not being familiar to younger generations. By establishing a base in Shibuya, we hope to advance new branding that will naturally make the younger generation aware of the brand.

TDC has adopted "Design for Center of Life" as its new design philosophy. Could you tell us what it aims to achieve?

There have been several philosophies in design up until now, but we have brought them all together and established "Design for Center of Life" as a phrase that can be communicated to the world. Above this is the idea of "Giving form to what is important," which is the brand statement upheld by Toshiba Lifestyle as a whole. What people hold dear varies from person to person, but what they all have in common is that these are things that are at the center of their daily lives. We want to focus on the most important things at the center of our lives and give them form through design. This is the thought that we have embodied in this philosophy.

We envision new ways of living through "co-creation" with diverse people.

For example, what kind of products will you focus on for the younger generation?

We would like to approach younger generations, including Gen Z, in the future. In fact, we have seen an increase in products that are popular with this generation. We offer items that focus on design and color variations, proposing home appliances that can be enjoyed as part of the interior. In the future, we would like to further expand our color variations, and in particular, take advantage of the influence of our base in Shibuya to create a new trend that can be called "Shibuya Color."

TDC is a very open and lovely space. What was the concept behind its creation?

大きく分けて、2つのコンセプトがあります。1つ目は、キッチンスペースなどの生活空間を再現して、生活に寄り添った発想を広げる場にすることです。従来のように机に向かってスケッチを描くのではなく、実際に生活動線を体感しながら考えられる空間にしました。たとえば、「コーヒーカップを持っていると、取っ手がこの位置では冷蔵庫の扉が開けにくいな」といった気づきが、デザインのヒントになっていきます。実際の生活空間で商品の色がどう見えるかをシミュレーションできる場にもなっています。

The second is to use it as a "co-creation space." We want to invite various co-creation partners to come and think together about themes such as "What should life be like five years from now?" We aim to create a space where new ideas can be generated while sharing real-life experiences, such as cooking using a microwave or rice cooker. Traditional development sites have inevitably been closed spaces due to confidentiality. We want to make them a little more open. TDC was launched at the end of August, so we are still in the exploratory stage, but we are considering tie-ups with students, housewives, cultural figures, and startup companies, for example.

The act of sending out design from Shibuya itself has symbolic significance.

Since moving to Shibuya, have you or the other designers noticed any changes in their awareness or behavior?

First of all, my contact with people has increased dramatically. I have had many more opportunities to talk with people of the younger generation in particular, and I have naturally been going out more. Even at the stores I stop by after work, the staff are all young, and I have been able to gain a lot of insights from casual conversations.

Shibuya is a city with a lot of pop-up shops and events. Student presentations and exhibitions are frequently held under Shibuya Sakura Stage, where our company is located, and we have had more opportunities to come into contact with the ideas and sensibilities of the younger generation. There are also many design-related events, and the stimulation we receive at these venues is enormous. For a designer, having an environment where we can take in ideas on a daily basis is the greatest asset.

In such an environment, all of our designers are proactively getting out and absorbing new things. They visit not only museums and events, but also select shops to look at product samples and sometimes even purchase them. Home appliance design doesn't just involve looking at home appliances. It's important to be exposed to a variety of fields, including materials, fashion, and spatial design. In that sense, the city of Shibuya is truly stimulating, and the ease of input is incomparable to before. Since moving to Shibuya, the design center as a whole has become more lively, and I feel that member engagement has also increased.

Finally, please tell us about the goals you would like to achieve in the future using TDC as your base.

I believe that TDC is the place where we can firmly put our design philosophy into practice, and my main goal is to embody it and communicate it to society through my activities here.

Another major focus is strengthening our ability to communicate globally. With the establishment of this base, we want to let people all over the world know that "Toshiba's lifestyle home appliances are designed in Tokyo, and specifically in Shibuya." The very act of disseminating design from the city of Shibuya has symbolic significance, and we would like to eventually be able to say "Toshiba Lifestyle Design in Tokyo," or even "in Shibuya." We would like to communicate new value for the Toshiba brand in lifestyle home appliances while capturing the energy of the creative city of Shibuya.