[Member Interview] My interest is in 'people, not design.' From a student life spent chasing what I loved to finding my career as a space designer

*This is a repost of an article published on Wantedly in September 2024.

Iida-san joined Kinomoto Shokai as a planner in July 2023.
To mark the one-year anniversary of her joining the company, we conducted an interview with her led by a student intern.

We asked her in detail about what inspired her to pursue a career in space design, her memories from her student days, and even her love for Porno Graffitti!

I wanted to do something that would influence people's lives through space, rather than just 'space design'

—First, could you tell us what inspired you to get involved in 'office space design'? I heard you joined a real estate company as a new graduate; did you have an interest in real estate or space back then?

As a new graduate, I joined a real estate company that handles the planning and development of renovations for used condominiums, driven by my resistance to large-scale urban development and scrap-and-build (demolishing aging buildings to rebuild them with new, efficient facilities and functions). Through my work there, I found it fascinating to increase the added value of existing properties and to provide insights into someone's life through those properties. I really did.

I decided to join Kinomoto Shokai because I wanted to question work styles through buildings and properties, and to help boost the turning points of the companies that move into them. It wasn't so much that I wanted to do 'space design,' but rather that I had a desire to influence people's lives through 'space.'

So, I really don't have that typical 'space designer' background of 'I loved looking at floor plans in real estate flyers' (laughs).

The first time I became interested in the connection between 'buildings' or 'spaces' and 'people' was during my second year of high school, at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Since I lived in the Kanto region, my area and the high school I attended didn't suffer major damage, but I was deeply shocked to learn that there were people who had suffered immense devastation.
In the midst of that, my high school organized a lecture-like event where they invited the head of a neighborhood association from Natori City (Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, where 910 units of temporary housing were built across 8 housing complexes due to massive tsunami damage).

They spoke about the efforts they were making to help residents forced to live in temporary housing spend their days as energetically as possible. According to the story, in that district, after people finished their time in evacuation centers and began life in temporary housing, an increasing number of elderly people started withdrawing and stopped coming outside.
I heard that the neighborhood association head, concerned about this, went around calling on people one by one, set up benches outside to create simple places for relaxation, and planned events like children's performances so the elderly would come out to watch...

Even as a second-year high school student, I could clearly understand the value and gratitude behind those efforts, and I was incredibly moved by the sight of them trying to protect the lives and relationships of local residents by utilizing the limited space of temporary housing.
In a way, I was very depressed at the time, facing an unprecedented disaster. I couldn't imagine myself dealing with tsunamis or landslides at all. However, I felt that I could contribute something by protecting my hometown and the relationships between people.

I studied regional revitalization in the Faculty of Social Sciences during university, and it was this lecture that led me to focus on that field.

Also, I think this was the period when my resistance to scrap-and-build was born. A large mansion in front of my parents' house was torn down, and four narrow houses were built on the site. At that time, I thought, 'The scenery has become so boring.' I had a simple sense of waste that the original mansion was gone, but above all, I really hated that the place where people lived, the life that was carried out there, and the entire surrounding scenery were suddenly lost, and four identical, glossy things were lined up as if nothing had happened. This was when a sense of discomfort with urban development and scrap-and-build began to sprout.

—So, your interest was stronger in the life lived in a space and the human relationships nurtured there, rather than the space itself?

That might be true. I think I was interested in places where human connections are rooted.

I was even interested in things like shopping street communities, and during my student days, I was drawn to a handwritten 'Help Wanted' flyer at a dango shop in a local shopping street and worked there part-time.
When I was minding the shop, there were customers who would come to order and say, 'Don't you recognize me when you look at my face?', and people from credit unions or banks would come by regularly, or people from the management association of a shiny new apartment building built in front of the station would come to order mochi for a mochi-pounding event they were holding at the apartment.

I clearly remember thinking, 'Credit unions are quite important to the local economy,' or 'Even in such a shiny apartment, they value things like apartment communities.' It was an opportunity to feel the connections between people up close.

Also, during my student days, I belonged to a Yosakoi dance circle and traveled all over the country as part of our activities. I went to Kochi Prefecture, the birthplace of Yosakoi, every year, and I also went to Osaka, Kobe, Niigata, Shizuoka, and even crossed the sea to China.Looking back now, it was a student life where I engaged with people, turned my eyes to the concept of a 'town,' and saw many different regions.

A student life spent passionately chasing 'I love this! This is cool!'

—"I got interested in the shopping district community, so I started working part-time at a dango shop." This high level of enthusiasm and initiative is very typical of you, Iida-san. I think your passion for the things you "love" is also one of your defining traits. For example, your "love for Porno Graffitti" is famous even within the company.

It's true, my "enthusiasm for the things I love" might be relatively high.

My encounter with Porno Graffitti was when I was in elementary school. I was close friends with a girl who had an older brother, and through her, I started listening to Porno Graffitti, which was popular among middle and high school students at the time. I've always been the type to dive deep into things I like, so I didn't just go to concerts; I also frequently went to public radio recordings.

After that, I got hooked on visual kei bands, and that was also triggered by a public recording for Porno.
A band called SID happened to be at the event I went to. And the fans of SID back then were truly amazing! People cosplaying as the members, people in extreme Lolita fashion—it was a world I, as a middle schooler, had never seen before.

I don't remember anything about the members or the event that day, but I was instantly drawn in by the passion and the high level of perfection of the older fans. Soon after, when SID appeared on Music Station, I thought, "It's those older fans from that time!" and started following them.

I've loved both Porno Graffitti and SID since I was in middle school.I think the reason my passion hasn't cooled down even now is because I was able to dive so deeply into what I "loved and thought was cool" during that period.

—So you were captivated by the fans before the bands themselves. You seem to go to concerts often on your days off; do you value seeing them in person?

I'm the type who thinks, "If I like them, I want to see and hear them in person.". Ever since I got hooked, I've preferred "seeing and hearing them in person" over buying merchandise, and that hasn't changed even now.

There are people who want to enjoy music in their own world, all by themselves, right? I also spent a lot of time in my student days just "reading the lyric cards over and over in my room," but the emotion from "seeing and hearing them in person" was something special.If something catches my interest, I want to see, hear, and feel it with my own eyes.

On the other hand, every time I go to a concert, it's not just "Oh, that was fun! I'll do my best tomorrow!" but also,it's a fact that I feel an inferiority complex, thinking that compared to them, I still have a long way to go.

—When you say you feel an "inferiority complex," do you mean that you end up comparing yourself to your own work and its results?

That's exactly it. It's like, "The things I thought were good and provided to the world have touched someone and they find value in them." I wonder if I am actually doing work that has that kind of value.

Honestly, I still don't think I've realized the desire I had when I joined the company to "influence people's lives through 'space'." This past year, I stepped into the new field of space design, and it felt like I was just doing my best to struggle through it...

Of course, for every project I've received, I've tried to think in my own way about what kind of approach I can take toward the space and the people who spend time there. However, I don't really feel like I've been able to offer "value that only I can provide." While I know that's partly due to my lack of experience and the nature of the projects, I still get quite discouraged sometimes.

From now on, I want toconnect the regional revitalization I studied in university and my past experience in the used apartment renovation business to my work in some way, so that I can offer "value that only I can provide" and do work where I can feel that my involvement had meaning.

—That stoicism is also very typical of you, Iida-san. You say you're still not satisfied with the status quo, but as the projects you're in charge of keep getting bigger, what do you find rewarding or joyful about your work?

Well, the joy of seeing what I've drawn take shape is huge. I think it's an emotion that can't be replaced by anything else.
In terms of reward, it's the feeling of "doing work that generates profit."."Generating profit" is something I value in how I approach my work. I think it's partly because I have a personality that likes visible results like profit, and it's also influenced by the fact that the company I joined as a new graduate strongly evaluated performance based on profit. But,I really think the value and impact that profit has when doing business is significant.
Honestly, I don't really want to pursue the beauty of minute details that no one might notice. While it's obviously important for a design to be excellent, I find more reward in completing a project properly and generating profit than in obsessing over things to the point of forcing compromises on budget or functionality. Regarding the project currently underway, I'm involved in an office relocation for an anime production company, and sometimes I think, "Just as I was saved by Porno Graffitti, there must be people who are saved by the works created by this production company."
I feel happy to be indirectly involved in the process of creating wonderful works that touch someone's heart, in the form of an office relocation.

"Isn't it cheating to talk about rural areas while living in the city?" The luxurious time I spent in Onomichi

—Before joining Kinomoto Shokai, you once moved to Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, right? I'd love to hear about that time too!

Around 2021, when I started hearing terms like "regional migration" and "dual-residence living," I started thinking,"Isn't it cheating to talk about rural areas while living in the city?" If that's the case, I'll do it myself! So I decided to move to Onomichi, a place I had visited in the past and liked. I quit the company I joined as a new graduate to move, and got a job at a construction company in Onomichi. In my private life, I participated in social gatherings, made friends there, played tennis a few times a month... that's the kind of life I was living.

The meetups included not just people who had moved there, but also locals. Seeing the announcement on Facebook, about 10 to 15 people would gather—people of different jobs, ages, and genders, who just happened to live in the same area.
We would meet for two hours from around 7 PM on weekdays, and sometimes we’d just bring a topic to discuss. If you just heard that, you might think, 'Huh?', but grown adults would actually get quite excited.
We’d talk about everything, from light topics like 'Please tell me a good restaurant in Onomichi,' to things like 'I'm sad because my dog died,' or 'I heard they're building this kind of playground in such-and-such park; what do you think about the city's approach to that?' (laughs)

It was a strange time where I realized that there are people who find joy in just having a conversation, and that alone is enough to make an interaction work.I thought that making friends after becoming an adult is also nice; they still hang out with me when I go back to Onomichi.

However, in terms of work, there were extremely few opportunities for women to stand at the forefront. Having worked intensely in Tokyo, I felt unsatisfied. I returned to Tokyo to find a new job, thinking I would live a life where I could occasionally visit Onomichi for fun.

—How is your work and life since returning to Tokyo?

Well, it's fulfilling, but I do feel that I haven't quite found the right balance between work and life. I've come to know the limits of my own physical strength, so I want to adjust things well moving forward and lead a life I'm satisfied with. If my life falls apart, my health fails, and I can't get my work done properly, I probably wouldn't be able to forgive myself for not being able to see my work through (laughs).
Ultimately, I think mental and physical health are what's important, so I want to get better at making choices and be able to move forward with both work and life in a comfortable way.

Also, since I chose a workplace that allows for super-flex hours and remote work, I want to be able to go to Onomichi more frequently. I haven't been able to go much lately, but I'd like to go about once a month if possible.

I like the busy life in Tokyo because it's fulfilling, but I also want to cherish the slow time that flows in Onomichi. Times like 'just talking' or 'just playing tennis' are incredibly luxurious, aren't they?

Looking ahead, and this overlaps with what I said earlier, I want to provide inspiration to someone someday.Something I thought was good and provided to the world resonates with someone, and they find value in it. I hope to be able to do more work where I can feel that my involvement had meaning.

☆Young Life Consultation☆

Since I had the chance, I asked for advice on things I was personally curious about or wanted to ask regarding future job hunting and employment! (I was somehow saved by Iida-san's unique answers... Thank you very much.)

—What do you think is most important or necessary for interns and new employees?

The experience of working desperately hard at something, the experience of failure, and the experience of things going well or not going well due to your own choices—these are what build the brain necessary for working. I didn't have any major failures until I became a working adult, so it took me a long time to realize that my stance toward work was wrong. Isn't what's important not being afraid of getting hurt or failing?

—Is there anything you must do during university life, or anything you wish you had done?

There is nothing you 'must' do. Even if you aren't interested in it at the time, if you do it just because adults tell you to, it won't resonate with you.

—What is a 'good adult'…?

I don't know. Everyone has their own form of happiness.

Kinomoto Shokai is looking for members for the Planning Division.

If you are interested in the work, or if you would like to hear more about it, please feel free to apply via Wantedly.