Koushi Chemical Industry and Shimizu Corporation: HOTABENCH, 1

TBWAHAKUHODO has released HOTABENCH, a bench made from upcycled scallop shells, developed in collaboration with Koushi Chemical Industry and Shimizu Corporation. Now on display at the Future Life Village at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, the installation showcases how marine waste can be reimagined into sustainable public infrastructure. HOTABENCH is a sustainable bench made from over 1,000 discarded scallop shells, breathing new life into materials that would otherwise be waste. The bench also leverages 3D printing technology, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions during production. For this project, we sourced scallop shells not only from Sarufutsu Village along the Okhotsk coast in Hokkaido, but also from Uchiura Bay (Hokkaido) and Mutsu Bay (Aomori Prefecture).