Nessum Award JAPAN 2026
Crossing a complex communication standard with diverse ideas to spark an interesting evolution
Nessum, a communication standard, is steadily gaining adoption as a technology that fills the “gaps” in the IoT society that existing technologies couldn't reach. Yet alongside its solid technical strength, its high degree of specialization has held back its expansion into new fields. ASIBA joined the rebranding effort in 2024, planning talk events and organizing “Nessum Award JAPAN 2026” to create a space where the technology's potential could meet a diverse range of ideas.
FIG.1 © Tamao Nishiyama
Beyond Technology
It’s neither Wi-Fi nor Bluetooth. Nessum is an international standard for communication using existing wiring or power lines in the air.
For this project, ASIBA planned and organized the “NESSUM AWARD JAPAN 2026” in collaboration with Nippon Steel & Sumikin Real Estate and Toh-Ho Technology. From producing the landing page and designing the graphics to creating the overall atmosphere for the award ceremony, the core of this project was the idea of opening up Nessum technology to a broader audience beyond experts.The idea was to reinterpret constraints such as “communication couldn’t reach” or “wiring wasn’t possible” not as flaws to be solved, but as starting points for discovering new purposes. What was needed to achieve this was the imagination of people unfamiliar with the inner workings of the technology.
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What Lies Beyond Opening Up Technology
The award attracted 52 entries. Applicants ranged in age from 17 to 65. The field was diverse, spanning not only architecture and design but also engineering disciplines such as information and mechanical engineering, as well as members of the general public who did not fit into these categories.Starting with “DX for Next-Generation Space Exploration,” which was selected as the Grand Prize winner, a succession of ideas emerged that combined participants’ respective fields of expertise with everyday life—including aquaculture infrastructure, wildlife damage control, offshore wind power generation, flood and tsunami hazard maps, and a hanging rack .
ASIBA’s role was not simply to convey Nessum’s technology. Through three initiatives—the landing page graphics, talk events, and the awards ceremony—we sought to bring a particular technology into contact with people who were not yet familiar with it.No technology can realize its potential without the imagination of those who receive it. Designing a space is nothing less than creating the conditions for that encounter.
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CREDIT
inhouse
collaborator
external
