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MVRDV redesigns water network in a Taiwanese town

Hoowave Water Factory. Design by MVRDV, Taiwan

Taiwan – Home to 70,000 inhabitants, the town of Huwei will have its waterway network entirely redesigned to promote deeper connections between citizens and nature.

The proposal, developed by MVRDV, has been selected by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs as the winning project for the large-scale redevelopment of Huwei’s water systems. Including both a strategic masterplan and landscape design, the Hoowave Water Factory project is set not only to uphold flood resilience, but also to improve the quantity and quality of the town’s water.

The new infrastructure will capture and store water in harmony with nature, urban life and the river’s flow. The proposal also introduces improved mobility networks and cultural amenities to boost economic and cultural attractivity. ‘Our design offers accessibility to riparian leisure spaces and cultural places, generating a more meaningful connection between people and nature... a wonderful resilience,’ adds MVRDV’s founding partner Winy Maas.

Explore infrastructure innovation and how design can bring people and nature closer in our Equilibrium Cities macrotrend.

Strategic opportunity

Nature-centric design has proven wellness benefits, but as the Hoowave Water Factory proposal suggests, good execution of a nature-forward civic project also holds economic value in the long term

Netflix partners with Nike Training Club

Global – Nike and Netflix are coming together to provide fitness enthusiasts with a new, convenient way to get moving by offering Nike Training Club’s (NTC) programmes on the streaming platform.

The initiative from the fitness and entertainment behemoths was launched on 30 December 2022, offering Netflix subscribers access to over 90 NTC on-demand workouts. To keep the classes accessible and convenient, the diverse catalogue comes in 10 languages and accommodates all fitness levels and requires minimal to no equipment. Members can choose to follow curated programmes or select a session by filtering classes by type or duration.

By offering curated workouts at no extra cost, the initiative will bring Nike's guided workouts to the screens of over 223m Netflix members.

In Media Kitchens we tracked the development of innovative dining options by merging food with entertainment, and the Netflix and Nike partnership is in a similar vein: consolidated offerings that combine fitness, wellness and entertainment in multi-purpose content hubs.

Nike Training Club on Netflix

Strategic opportunity

At times when convenience is no longer an added benefit but a core necessity, creating shortcuts for customers and hybrid two-in-one solutions will make service providers stand out in highly competitive markets

Stat: Nearly one in five Americans (18%) name specific health benefits they want in their products

Sippers, UK

US – Consumers are increasingly looking to food and drink ingredients to actively improve health, according to a new study from Tastewise – placing this above sustainability.

Insights for the study were taken from an AI algorithm applied to more than 22.5bn social media interactions, more than 5m online recipes and more than 4.5m restaurant and delivery menus. The results showed that nearly one in five Americans (18%) name specific health benefits they want in their products, with consumers talking about health 12 times more than sustainability when eating plant-based foods, and choosing plant-based options for health reasons 16 times more often than the environment.

The study also revealed that more consumers are specifically interested in food and drink to improve women’s health, with 37% more women looking to food and drink for health needs in 2022 than a year earlier. In this category, menopause support indexed high, boosting the popularity of ingredients like flaxseed.

At LS:N Global we have tracked the food-as-medicine movement in Total Tastes, as well as the health opportunities around Women Futures.

Strategic opportunity

Food and drink products now have to be more than healthy; functionality should now move to address different needs at different times of day – and note the potential in the condiments market for functional benefits

The Future Laboratory Events Calendar 2023

The Future Laboratory's Trend Briefing 2023 at the Royal Academy of Arts, UK

Join us in 2023 for a series of inspiring video presentations, guest speaker panels and live Q&A sessions as well as our industry-renowned Trend Briefing in London.

Members of LS:N Global get free access to our full programme of online events in 2023. You can RSVP to these events via The Future Laboratory Community. Not yet a member? Get in contact with your account manager to set up your free account.

Join us online or in person this year and get inspired to make a better future happen with trends from Beta Boardrooms, Deep Work Dens and Polywork Campuses to embracing longevity as a core pillar in selling and synthesising tomorrow’s category innovations.

We hope to see you there.