Latest news with #Nagata
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Why Dunard Centre means Edinburgh will soon join an elite group of global cities
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As any master distiller will tell you, creating something of enduring quality takes time, patience and persistence – and a willingness to embrace failure along the way. In 1923, having already gambled and lost his fortune attempting to launch a new Spanish wine business in Japan, Shinjiro Torii invested his remaining life savings in Japan's first malt whisky distillery. Fourteen years later, Suntory whisky was born. Nearly 90 years on, its distinctive square bottle remains the number one best-selling whisky in Japan. All of which indicates that Torii embodied his motto, 'Yatte Minahare', which means 'dream big and never give up'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But what came next is more extraordinary still. In 1986, that same company – founded to produce whisky – opened Tokyo's first concert hall. And in the intervening years, Suntory Hall has led a global cultural revolution. Suntory Hall in Tokyo is highly regarded for the quality of its acoustics (Picture: Koichi Kamoshida) | Getty Images Ethos of generosity Designed to deliver 'the world's most beautiful sound' in a 'vineyard'-style space that is as immersive and democratic as they come, Suntory Hall became an exemplar of the company's and its founder's ethos of generosity, built on a commitment to give away a third of its profits each year for the betterment of society. Suntory Hall was also the first major project for Nagata Acoustics, now widely recognised as the world's leading specialists in concert hall sound. Paris, Hamburg, Munich, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Helsinki – they all have a concert hall designed by Nagata. And what Nagata has done for these cities is as transformative as what Shinjiro did for Japanese whisky. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Within five years of its completion, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie led to a 15 per cent increase in overnight stays and attracted more than 14.5 million visitors, three-quarters of whom went on to visit other cultural venues across the city. In Los Angeles, Disney Hall revitalised a forgotten downtown area, restoring population levels and local retail spending to the boom of the 1950s. And in Helsinki, the Music Centre is at the heart of a long-term city strategy to achieve sustainable growth that fosters social, economic, and cultural well-being. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An artist's impression of what the Dunard Centre's Caledonia Hall will look like (Picture: David Chipperfield Architects) | David Chipperfield Architects 'A sense of oneness' Nagata's principles are founded upon the experience of the individual and, like Suntory, upon the betterment of society. Nagata puts people first, positioning the listener at the centre of the music in pursuit of a more immersive, and ultimately more profound, experience. The focus of Suntory Hall's design was 'to achieve a sense of oneness between musicians and audience', and to create an immediacy of sound, as pure for the listener as for the musicians themselves on stage. The unique flat floor design of their Blue Rose hall brings the audience into close proximity with the performers, allowing them to feel the music 'with their entire body'. This people-focused approach extends outside the auditorium too. Welcoming communal spaces and free 'open house' events invite visitors to gather and to linger, and a broad community engagement programme built around Suntory's principle of 'giving back' has nourished a whole new generation of musicians and concertgoers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cultural transformation In 2029, Edinburgh will become the first city in the UK to host a Nagata hall. In doing so, it will join the list of global cities that have put people at the heart of their cultural ambitions. The Dunard Centre is already projected to bring in more than £8 million to the city every year, and to generate a return on investment of nearly £170m over its first 20 years of operations. These alluring numbers are only half of the story. The really tantalising part is the impact on people, and the cultural transformation that the UK's first Nagata hall will have on Scotland's festival city for generations to come. Built on a hidden plot just off the capital's bustling St Andrew Square – served by buses, trains and trams – the Dunard Centre will open up a new piece of the public realm that has been closed off to the public for more than 200 years. In doing so, it will create new lanes and thoroughfares through the heart of the city, adding an open and welcoming cultural space to Edinburgh's historic New Town. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Every seat the best in the house Its 21st-century design was created with Nagata's acoustics front and centre: the brief to David Chipperfield Architects was to ensure there is no barrier between audience and performer, for the experience to be as intimate and as personal as possible. So, the audience seating wraps around the stage and, in certain small-scale formats, it even brings the audience within touching distance of the performers. There are no poor sightlines and no cold spots: every inch of the auditorium has been mapped with Nagata's acoustic precision, such that every single seat is the best in the house. Our vision? To be a 'Hall for all', a space which – like Suntory Hall – embeds culture in people's everyday lives, fostering togetherness, curiosity, and deep personal connections. It is a project that has taken more than 25 years to reach fruition. Like a fine single malt, Nagata halls tend to take time, patience and persistence to realise, but they are the embodiment of Yatte Minahare: dream big and never give up.
Scotsman
23-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Why Dunard Centre means Edinburgh will soon join an elite group of global cities
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As any master distiller will tell you, creating something of enduring quality takes time, patience and persistence – and a willingness to embrace failure along the way. In 1923, having already gambled and lost his fortune attempting to launch a new Spanish wine business in Japan, Shinjiro Torii invested his remaining life savings in Japan's first malt whisky distillery. Fourteen years later, Suntory whisky was born. Nearly 90 years on, its distinctive square bottle remains the number one best-selling whisky in Japan. All of which indicates that Torii embodied his motto, 'Yatte Minahare', which means 'dream big and never give up'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But what came next is more extraordinary still. In 1986, that same company – founded to produce whisky – opened Tokyo's first concert hall. And in the intervening years, Suntory Hall has led a global cultural revolution. Suntory Hall in Tokyo is highly regarded for the quality of its acoustics (Picture: Koichi Kamoshida) | Getty Images Ethos of generosity Designed to deliver 'the world's most beautiful sound' in a 'vineyard'-style space that is as immersive and democratic as they come, Suntory Hall became an exemplar of the company's and its founder's ethos of generosity, built on a commitment to give away a third of its profits each year for the betterment of society. Suntory Hall was also the first major project for Nagata Acoustics, now widely recognised as the world's leading specialists in concert hall sound. Paris, Hamburg, Munich, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Helsinki – they all have a concert hall designed by Nagata. And what Nagata has done for these cities is as transformative as what Shinjiro did for Japanese whisky. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Within five years of its completion, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie led to a 15 per cent increase in overnight stays and attracted more than 14.5 million visitors, three-quarters of whom went on to visit other cultural venues across the city. In Los Angeles, Disney Hall revitalised a forgotten downtown area, restoring population levels and local retail spending to the boom of the 1950s. And in Helsinki, the Music Centre is at the heart of a long-term city strategy to achieve sustainable growth that fosters social, economic, and cultural well-being. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An artist's impression of what the Dunard Centre's Caledonia Hall will look like (Picture: David Chipperfield Architects) | David Chipperfield Architects 'A sense of oneness' Nagata's principles are founded upon the experience of the individual and, like Suntory, upon the betterment of society. Nagata puts people first, positioning the listener at the centre of the music in pursuit of a more immersive, and ultimately more profound, experience. The focus of Suntory Hall's design was 'to achieve a sense of oneness between musicians and audience', and to create an immediacy of sound, as pure for the listener as for the musicians themselves on stage. The unique flat floor design of their Blue Rose hall brings the audience into close proximity with the performers, allowing them to feel the music 'with their entire body'. This people-focused approach extends outside the auditorium too. Welcoming communal spaces and free 'open house' events invite visitors to gather and to linger, and a broad community engagement programme built around Suntory's principle of 'giving back' has nourished a whole new generation of musicians and concertgoers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cultural transformation In 2029, Edinburgh will become the first city in the UK to host a Nagata hall. In doing so, it will join the list of global cities that have put people at the heart of their cultural ambitions. The Dunard Centre is already projected to bring in more than £8 million to the city every year, and to generate a return on investment of nearly £170m over its first 20 years of operations. These alluring numbers are only half of the story. The really tantalising part is the impact on people, and the cultural transformation that the UK's first Nagata hall will have on Scotland's festival city for generations to come. Built on a hidden plot just off the capital's bustling St Andrew Square – served by buses, trains and trams – the Dunard Centre will open up a new piece of the public realm that has been closed off to the public for more than 200 years. In doing so, it will create new lanes and thoroughfares through the heart of the city, adding an open and welcoming cultural space to Edinburgh's historic New Town. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Every seat the best in the house Its 21st-century design was created with Nagata's acoustics front and centre: the brief to David Chipperfield Architects was to ensure there is no barrier between audience and performer, for the experience to be as intimate and as personal as possible. So, the audience seating wraps around the stage and, in certain small-scale formats, it even brings the audience within touching distance of the performers. There are no poor sightlines and no cold spots: every inch of the auditorium has been mapped with Nagata's acoustic precision, such that every single seat is the best in the house. Our vision? To be a 'Hall for all', a space which – like Suntory Hall – embeds culture in people's everyday lives, fostering togetherness, curiosity, and deep personal connections. It is a project that has taken more than 25 years to reach fruition. Like a fine single malt, Nagata halls tend to take time, patience and persistence to realise, but they are the embodiment of Yatte Minahare: dream big and never give up.
The Hill
20-06-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Teens with ‘addictive' phone use more likely to be suicidal: Study
(NewsNation) — A new study has found that addiction to social media, video games and mobile devices is linked to a higher risk of suicidal behaviors and thoughts. JAMA Network published the study Wednesday, which looked at data from over 4,000 children starting at 9 or 10 years old. The study followed these children for years and found that, by the age of 14: The study author, Yunyu Xiao, said, 'And these youth are significantly more likely to report suicidal behaviors and thoughts.' According to NPR, Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, said, 'It's an important study and raising awareness about screen addiction. … It shows that elements of addiction related to screen use are more strongly predictive of poorer mental health and even suicide risk compared to just screen time. So, I think that it provides more nuance.' Data was used from an ongoing longitudinal study called the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which has been following these children for years. During that time, these children were questioned about their average daily screen time, among other things, with a standardized questionnaire. Xiao said that some of the statements in the questionnaire would include, ''I spend a lot of time thinking about social media apps or planning to use social media apps'' and ''I try to use the social media app less, but I can't.'' Then, each child's response would be monitored over the years to see how it changed. Nearly 60% of the participants had low levels of social media addiction, and they stayed stable over the years. However, around a tenth of the children had an increasing social media addiction that peaked around the third and fourth year of the study. When it came to cell phone use, around half showed a high addiction, and a quarter had an increasing addiction. Then, with video games, there were two groups: Around 60% showed low addiction that was stable, and 41% were highly addicted throughout a certain period of time. The study found that those who had high and increasing addiction to mobile phones and social media platforms were at a higher risk of suicidal behaviors and thoughts. At year four, almost 18% of kids reported having suicidal thoughts, and 5% said they had suicidal behaviors. This correlation was also observed in individuals who were highly addicted to video games. However, total screen time had no effect on a lower or higher suicide risk. Nagata said, 'We all get reports from our phones about our weekly screen time. Screen time is an easily understandable metric because it's minutes or hours a day that we're spending on screens.' Psychologist Mitch Prinstein, a professor at the University of North Carolina, also said, 'Some kids might spend their time on screen reading the news, and some might be trolling some pretty dangerous sites. So it's really hard to know what to make of screen time as a risk factor.' Nagata is also someone who has used data from the ABCD study to understand how teenagers are using these social media platforms over time and how that's affecting their risk of mental health symptoms. 'One thing that was really striking to me is that, unfortunately, these symptoms of screen addictions are actually pretty common,' Nagata said.
National Post
29-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
Yes, social media could be making your kids depressed, study finds
Article content Any potential link between social media use and kids' mental health often comes down to a what-came-first conundrum: does more time glued to TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram make youth more depressed, or are distressed kids just more likely to spend more time on social media? Article content Article content A new study suggests it's the former, not the latter, at play. Article content Researchers who followed nearly 12,000 children found the more time nine- and 10-year-olds spend engaged with social media, the more depressive symptoms they have a year or two years later. Article content Kids' social media use soared, on average, from seven to 73 minutes per day, over the three years of the study, and their depressive symptoms rose by 35 per cent, according to the paper, published in JAMA Network Open. Article content Article content 'These findings provide evidence that social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms.' Article content It's not clear why. However, adolescence can make for a 'critical period of vulnerability during which social media exposure may have lasting implications for mental health,' the researchers wrote. Article content Article content 'As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to 'get off your phone' doesn't really work,' Nagata said. Article content Article content 'Parents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental questions about screen use,' he said. 'Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier habits for everyone, including adults.' Article content The researchers used data from an ongoing study spanning 21 sites, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the biggest longitudinal study — meaning it's following young people over multiple time points — of adolescent health, brain and cognitive development in the U.S. The study recruited children aged nine to 10 from October 2016 to October 2018, and followed them through 2022, when they were 12 to 13.
Ottawa Citizen
29-05-2025
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Yes, social media could be making your kids depressed, study finds
Article content Any potential link between social media use and kids' mental health often comes down to a what-came-first conundrum: does more time glued to TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram make youth more depressed, or are distressed kids just more likely to spend more time on social media? Article content Article content Researchers who followed nearly 12,000 children found the more time nine- and 10-year-olds spend engaged with social media, the more depressive symptoms they have a year or two years later. Article content Article content Kids' social media use soared, on average, from seven to 73 minutes per day, over the three years of the study, and their depressive symptoms rose by 35 per cent, according to the paper, published in JAMA Network Open. Article content Article content It's not clear why. However, adolescence can make for a 'critical period of vulnerability during which social media exposure may have lasting implications for mental health,' the researchers wrote. Article content Article content 'As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to 'get off your phone' doesn't really work,' Nagata said. Article content Article content 'Parents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental questions about screen use,' he said. 'Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier habits for everyone, including adults.' Article content The researchers used data from an ongoing study spanning 21 sites, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the biggest longitudinal study — meaning it's following young people over multiple time points — of adolescent health, brain and cognitive development in the U.S. The study recruited children aged nine to 10 from October 2016 to October 2018, and followed them through 2022, when they were 12 to 13.
