Corporate museums lie somewhere in between the academic world of museums and the business world of companies. They also serve as organizations that help companies manage many aspects of their operations, including public relations, branding, advertising, and human resources. This article series will explore corporate museums, their roles and functions, and the opportunities they present, all with the help of PR professionals.
Daisuke Inoue, PR Consulting Dentsu Inc.
Over the course of a 35-article series, we have featured a total of 33 corporate museums operated by private companies, exploring their functions and roles as owned media and examining their potential as PR assets. In this “special edition,” we introduce a museum operated by an independent administrative agency and examine how an organization with a different origin than private companies operates its museum, effectively utilizing its functions from a PR perspective.
UR Urban and Life Museum, operated by Urban Renaissance Agency, opened in September 2023 and has quickly become a popular museum, fully booked on weekends. It has also garnered attention from abroad, with visits from foreign media and government and municipal officials.
The museum building (photo taken by the writer)
Media Coverage Drives Weekend Reservations to Full Capacity
Not many people would have thought that the Mecca of danchi (housing complexes typically built as public housing in Japan) could be found in Akabanedai in Tokyo’s northern Kita-ku ward. This is where the Japan Housing Corporation of the time built a large-scale housing development comprising 3,373 residences in 1962, right in the middle of Japan’s period of high economic growth. The “danchi masterpiece” that was brought into existence here presented numerous ideas for future housing complex models and marked a singularity in the progress of Japanese-style housing complexes.
Akabanedai now hosts the brand-new UR Museum of Urban and Lifestyle Design – the corporate museum of the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) incorporated administrative agency – which opened on September 15, 2023. While visitors to this facility can gain a comprehensive overview of the urban development that UR has undertaken, including urban regeneration, disaster recovery, and the development of new towns, its greatest feature is its many experiential exhibits that enable visitors to go beyond simply looking at exhibits and reading and finding out about UR using all of their senses in an astounding environment that offers immersive fascination.
The museum reached its maximum capacity for reservations each weekend soon after it opened. Elderly couples, young couples, and even families with kids who, in addition to students and researchers of urban planning, constitute its wide range of visitors who come through its doors quicker than anyone had imagined. Extensive media coverage has contributed to its popularity, making it an excellent example of publicity leading to footfall.
There is also a high level of interest in the museum from overseas, with architecture-focused media from Italy and multiple other overseas media outlets reporting on it. “We’ve had visits from overseas universities for the purpose of research as well as visits from the World Bank and other such entities, so we believe that there is also a high level of interest in us overseas as a museum that conveys to people what architecture and daily life was like in Japan’s period of high economic growth,” says a member of the museum’s publicity team.
A Wide Range of Projects and a Long History: The Challenge of Getting to Know UR
It is not easy to explain exactly what kind of corporation UR is. It is an incorporated administrative agency that undertakes works of a highly public nature on behalf of the Japanese government, and its former incarnation was the Japan Housing Corporation that was established in 1955 to tackle Japan’s post-war housing shortage. But its corporate mission is just one of the aspects of UR that makes it different in essence from for-profit companies.
In addition to managing and running danchi with a total of approximately 700,000 residences across Japan in its rental housing business, UR also undertakes a broad range of other projects and is involved in urban regeneration projects, support for disaster recovery, and other such business. While it has a history of meeting the demands of society from one generation to another, there are doubts about how readily UR can elicit understanding and empathy as a corporation. Danchi and cities are closely connected to our daily life, so while UR really should be a very familiar entity to all of us, it is not hard to envisage that the standard means of corporate publicity do not work for it. However, UR Museum of Urban and Lifestyle Design has overcome this issue thanks to its many experiential exhibits bringing a sense of reality to UR and promoting a fundamental understanding of the corporation.
The entrance to the museum building (photo taken by the writer)
Touching, Diving Into, and Participating in the History and Future of Cities and Lifestyles
Let’s take a look at the exhibits and methods used by UR to achieve close communication with the public at this corporate museum. An expression that UR Museum of Urban and Lifestyle Design uses to describe itself is “always exploring new ways of living, with a panoramic view of the past, present, and future”, and at the museum you can find out about the past, present, and future of UR, which has undertaken urban development and explored new lifestyles in each generation since its establishment. The techniques that the museum uses in its exhibitions are truly varied, and sometimes out of the ordinary.
A restored dwelling unit from the Dōjunkai Daikanyama Apartments (single occupancy) (photo courtesy of Urban Renaissance Agency)
An example of this are the restored dwelling units at the museum. On display are dwelling units, presented as they were, from four danchi each symbolizing a different generation. It should be noted that these are not recreations, but dwellings that have been completely restored using the materials of the time, and visitors can not only touch them but also enter the dwellings themselves.
UR Theater (photo courtesy of UR)
On the other hand, the museum also makes effective use of digital technology. Visitors can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the history of urban development while experiencing the sensation of floating, and see urban regeneration, disaster recovery, and other such large-scale works in front of their eyes on a massive 21-meter screen. This is an experience that immerses visitors in the generation and space in question.
Registered tangible cultural property (buildings category) on the grounds of the museum (photo taken by the writer)
When visitors go on to step out of the museum building, they are confronted with registered tangible cultural properties (buildings category) in the form of four towering residential blocks whose impact goes beyond the boundaries of an exhibition. The courtyard in the center of the grounds, Workshop Square, opened in July 2024 and holds events with the participation of local residents, markets, and other such events as a venue for engagement with the local community and to bring vibrancy to the area.
Step Back in Time to Experience a Housing Complex from Almost a Century Ago
From here, we will look at some of the museum’s exhibits that have particular impact as publicity content.
Kitchen from the Dōjunkai Daikanyama Apartments (for families) (photo courtesy of Urban Renaissance Agency)
For this, we need look no further than the restored dwelling units. The museum has four dwelling units from danchi tracing through generations and that have been restored using the construction materials, tools, sash windows, and other materials from the time they were originally built. They are not merely sets; they are the real thing. When a visitor enters the dwelling from the Dōjunkai Daikanyama Apartments that were built approximately a century ago in the 1920s, for example, they will notice the faint smell of tatami flooring mats while also being surprised by its compact construction comprising a 13 square meter living room and a ceiling height of 2.3 meters. This gives visitors the experience of stepping back in time to visit the home of people from that era and directly getting a feel for the way they used to live.
1950s dining room/kitchen from the Hasune Danchi (photo courtesy of Urban Renaissance Agency)
The next dwelling is from the Hasune Danchi, which gives visitors a feeling for how life in Japan became westernized, and particularly evident in the dwelling from the Harumi Koso apartment complex is a pursuit of a design aesthetic. As one door opens with a clank and you move to the next room, you get a true sense of how these rooms are connected to the way that we live in the modern age. Housing and lifestyles are refined through someone’s tireless innovation and effort, and the discovery of this leads to knowing what UR is about.
For more details on the restored dwellings from the four danchi, see here.
As an aside, the letters DK are often seen on floor plans in Japan. These letters refer to a room that serves as both a dining room and a kitchen, and UR was the first to use this notation. Furthermore, while stainless steel sinks are now mainstream products in Japanese kitchens, the reason they became commonplace in Japan was down to their use in UR’s danchi. Other such nuggets of trivia about things in everyday life in Japan that we take for granted are dotted around the museum and stimulate the curiosity of visitors.
A display of things that were first used in danchi (photo taken by the writer)
This is a display of things that were first used in danchi, featuring wall and ceiling-mounted components from homes in each generation. It brings a feeling of nostalgia to the generations who know them, and to those who don’t know them, they may look like a modern art installation. The interphones and doorbells on display still work, and visitors are free to try them out, with most of those who do so being surprised by the dings and buzzes that they produce. This kind of playful installation is one of the things that makes the museum so appealing.
Danchi doorbells that still work (photo taken by the writer)
While components such as these from residences in housing complexes are destined to be disposed of after a certain period of time, they are also cherished parts of homes that have supported people’s lives and can become precious artifacts that convey the history of urban living to subsequent generations. Preserving and curating them as heritage artifacts is an important role played by corporate museums.
Unique Star Houses on Display in Their Entirety
On the grounds of the museum are four danchi buildings, all four of which form the first ever danchi to become a registered tangible cultural property (buildings category). Three of these buildings are residential towers that have a pointed form and are known commonly as “star houses.” There are three residences on each floor, and each residence benefits from natural airflow and light from three directions. When viewed from above, they have a shape like the letter Y that invokes an image of a star, which is where they get their name from. Visitors often gaze at this design in wonderment and are also taken aback by the fact they were built 60 years ago. They are the kind of exhibit that visitors end up wanting to share on social media along with a few words.
Y-shaped residential “star house” blocks built between the latter 1950s and early 1960s (photo taken by the writer)
Also on display is a danchi typical of those that are commonplace in urban areas around Japan. This is the “Lab 41” residential building, with a style referred to as “a board-shaped staircase.”
Lab 41 (photo courtesy of Urban Renaissance Agency)
All of the residences are designed to maximize natural light and ventilation and are thus south-facing and also have a balcony. But why has this been preserved as a registered tangible cultural property (buildings category)? The answer to this is because it is a precious exhibit illustrating the standard form of residential buildings from the period of high economic growth that connects to the danchi of today. Value is not only found in things that are appealing to the eye: the everyday also forms a starting point, and it has a continuous, unbroken history stretching to where we are now. This is what Lab 41 tells us. The building has now been partially renovated, and it is also used as a testing ground for renovation methods and technologies.
Danchi are mass-produced residences, and once they reach the end of their life, they are demolished to make way for new homes to be built in their place. However, behind this metabolism are new ideas for the lifestyle of each generation, and the spirit of challenge. The act of leaving behind a “slice of life” goes beyond the history of a single corporation and can be described as an act of leaving behind the history of housing in Japan. Visitors should be aware, however, that none of these four buildings are normally open to the public in order to preserve their qualities as historical exhibits.
Regional Revitalization and Connection with Disaster-Hit Areas are Part of the Museum
Another feature of this museum is the fact that it emphasizes engagement with local residents and bringing vibrancy to the surrounding region; that is to say it places importance on its relationship with a range of stakeholders.
As an example of this, it started an urban and lifestyle competition in November 2023 as a trial in which ideas were solicited from the general public for ideas to use the museum’s public spaces as a testing ground for activities, designs, and business to create a new landscape. The winner was selected in March 2024, and on the basis of the winning idea, a plan will be put into action to create an agricultural area in Akabanedai. Events including fully-fledged regional events are also planned to start from the fall of 2024 onwards.
A presentation in the urban and lifestyle competition (photo courtesy of Kenya Chiba)
“Urban development happens because of local residents. We view the sight of events as also being part of the museum,” says a member of the museum’s staff with responsibility for the facilities. Participation in these events lets people get to known UR in its current form and builds good relations. This is also one of the museum’s missions.
The museum also places importance on connections outside of the local area. As an aspect of support for disaster recovery, which forms one of UR’s main areas of activity, the museum is working to increase the number of people involved in disaster-hit areas and to prevent them from fading from people’s consciousness. In February 2024, the museum planted three cherry blossom saplings that were spared when the tsunami hit in the Great East Japan Earthquake and were subsequently given to the museum by Japan’s northern Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. The idea is that visitors to the museum will recall the afflicted area as they admiringly gaze at the cherry blossom in full bloom. If they are early bloomers, the trees may bloom starting next year, and they will ensure the disaster-hit areas remain in memories for decades to come. This is another example of a long-term initiative by UR, which has undertaken urban development and created lifestyles across generations.
Three cherry blossom trees from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures have been planted on the museum’s grounds (photo taken by the writer)
Always Overcoming Issues Faced by Society
“People generally just associate UR with homes for rent, so we hope that as many people as possible will find out how UR has actually always sought to undertake urban development that fits the times and the community. UR has carried out work essential for urban development, such as the development of new towns, urban regeneration, and disaster recovery. Going forward, we intend to embark on new initiatives to bring further prosperity to lifestyles in the future, and we hope to be able to tell people about these through this museum,” says a member of UR’s publicity team.
Urban development and bringing prosperity to lifestyles. At the end of the day, UR’s work is to overcome problems faced by regions and the adverse effects of changing generations. In other words, it takes on the challenge of solving issues faced by society. This museum, which affords visitors a vicarious experience of this, is highly effective in ensuring understanding of and empathy with its business in this era where no one is unaffected by such issues.
UR works to spread its message that it overcomes issues faced by society, and this intent is carried on by the museum. This unwavering stance is an eloquent expression of what UR is.