TOA Plans to Build up a New Business Creation Site

Tokyo, February 14, 2018 - TOA Corporation (Headquarters: Kobe, Japan, President, CEO: Kazuhiro Takeuchi) to redevelop its research and development center Takarazuka Workplace (Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture) and construct “Knowledge Square”, a new center for business creation.

The location to be redeveloped is Takarazuka Workplace, located in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, and which currently serves primarily as TOA’s research and development division. Under the redevelopment plan, a new R&D tower will be built on company grounds that span approximately 21,000 m2. As part of its environmental design, the new development will also include green areas and a garden. Construction will begin in March 2018, and after the center is completed in December 2020, it will become a driver of growth for the TOA Group by serving as a location that creates new value and generates business.

The main facility will be the new R&D tower, a 5-story structure with approximately 7,500 m2 in floor space that will house a researchers room and experimentation equipment. As a facility open to the public, it will feature a campus observation route and presentation room for guests. The researchers room will have walls made of glass in a design that enables visitors to observe researchers at work. The center of the building will have an open atrium surrounded by an open meeting area and relaxation area. The entire building will be designed to support lively communication.

Sound has the quality of being able to notify a large number of people of the same information simultaneously, and it has been used since antiquity to signal warning. Since TOA’s founding, the company has continued to provide the public with “power transmitted through sound” via its products such as emergency broadcast equipment and disaster-prevention high-performance speakers. The redevelopment project will further strengthen its R&D capabilities, and at the same time create a venue for connecting with various stakeholders including users and business partners, with the goal of creating new value together. In addition, by changing the work styles of employees, the company is encouraging a lively atmosphere for employees and thus contributing to work style reform.

Name: Knowledge Square
Address: 2-1 Takamatsucho, Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture
Site area: 21,329.03m²
Start of construction: March 1, 2018
Completion date: December 2020
Design : Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei Inc.
Construction: Takenaka Corporation

The outside of the new R&D tower has been designed with a compressional sound wave pattern (vertical stripe pattern schematically representing sound traveling in a vacuum) as the R&D symbol of a sound equipment manufacturer.