On Monday, March 24, Reiwa 7, the final presentation of the “Manhole Upcycling Demonstration Project” conducted by Toyota KOSEN, Toyota City Water Supply and Sewerage Bureau, and Aisin Takaoka was held at Toyota City Hall.
In this presentation, about 40 students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Civil Engineering were divided into 10 groups and proposed the idea of upcycling used manholes. About a year ago, Theu learned about design thinking, new product development, and marketing from Aisin Takaoka and took on the challenge of making presentations to each group. Each group came up with their own unique ideas.
This situation has been reported in various media.
Chunichi Shimbun Toyoda edition: March 27, 2025
Himawari Network “Toyota NOW”: Broadcast on March 26, 2025
https://stream.himawari.co.jp/chroot/vod/toyotanow/news_250326_2.mp4
[Presentation of a group that upcycled a manhole as a gardening chair]
[Presentation of a group that upcycled a manhole as a chair with a turtle motif]
[Grand Prize member, a team that upcycled a manhole into a product that combines a Daruma stove and a lantern]