From “Smart Life Station” to other “people-oriented” services at the North Hanoi Smart City

After six months of the pilot phase, the first “Smart Life Station” launched in the Le Grand Jardin apartment complex (Long Bien, Hanoi), under the SDGs Business Supporting Surveys deployed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), received a lot of appreciations from the participating residents. The project was implemented by Sumitomo Corporation with the collaboration of BRG Group.

This first success strengthened the collaboration between BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation and aimed to research and set up several high-quality services for North Hanoi Smart City’s residents in the future.

From August 19 to 21, before upgrading and evaluating the efficacy of the first pilot phase, the “Smart Life Station” implied a series of interesting and meaningful activities for the residents.

Children experienced interesting activities at the “Smart Life Station”.

This series of interesting activities, dedicated to residents of all ages, includes:

• A book fair with a broad selection of books that promote reading habits and keep kids away from technological devices. The children also joined seminars about the cosmos and the human body, and played the role of young scientists.
• Traditional folk games that were experienced and discovered through a variety of performing arts shows.
• An exhibition of recyclable products from garbage and a zero-waste station, aiming thereby to raise people’s awareness of environmental protection.
• A handmade workshop encouraging a minimalist, healthy, and eco-friendly lifestyle.
• Conference and community health care consultations with the participation of medical experts.
• Meaningful charity activities to help people in difficulty.

Since March 2022, the “Smart Life Station” has been available at the Le Grand Jardin apartment complex. Throughout the pilot phase, numerous residents have joined activities that foster mutual support, healthy living, and residential community. The “Smart Life Station” in particular has developed into a brand-new entertainment and educational hub where kids can learn useful skills through a bunch of practical experiences.

This pilot phase also allowed the “Smart Life Station” to create a healthy and sustainable community and help resolve current social problems, including the lack of common areas and connectivity,  health awareness, and appropriate establishments for children.

Residents at Le Grand Jardin apartment complex participated in social health care activities with the help of medical experts.

The feedbacks and findings from this pilot phase will improve the “Smart Life Station” in its future implementation at the North Hanoi Smart City, a project based on the collaboration between BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation aiming to build a green, intelligent, and joyful city that provides happiness to every resident from even the little things.

The North Hanoi Smart City emphasizes sharing and cohesive links between communities of citizens, setting new high standards through technology; each resident is recognized as a “cells” of the community, contributing to the development of the city.

That is also the goal of the “Smart Life Station”, demonstrating the efforts of BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation in order to prepare better things for the North Hanoi Smart City in the future.

Overlook view of the North Hanoi Smart City

Information about the “Smart Life Station”:

The “Smart Life Station” was implemented by Sumitomo Corporation and Hakuhodo Advertising Company (Japan), in collaboration with BRG Group and within the framework of the SDGs Business Supporting Survey of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The “Smart Life Station” includes 5 main areas:

• Utensils/skills area: This area offers free sharing of some occasional household items. In addition, people can organize classes and life skills sharing sessions such as yoga, sports, seminars, and clubs in the multi-function room in this area.
• Playground area: A place for children to improve their health, unleash their creativity, and enhance their wellbeing. Here, parents can remotely follow their children’s activities through smart IP cameras.
• Health check-up hub: A place that offers free health checks to residents with modern equipment and devoted medical advice from professional nurses so that everyone can get the best health care.
• Café area: A menu of recommended dishes/drinks in line with residents' health records and living habits.
• Reading corner: A place with a variety of books for all ages to inspire and spread the reading culture to everyone.