Junki Horita-Hakuten · CLIENT: Hakuten
Hakuten Kyobashi is an office interior design created for a communication design company. The space measures 2,400 square meters and serves 400 employees through a free address system. Free spaces form the core of the zoning, and every fixture is movable, with handles, stacking ability and casters. The wooden flooring of the cafe zone can be removed piece by piece. Graphic patterns on the floor act as a scale for changing exhibits. Part of the former tenant interior was kept and joined with the new work to limit demolition and preserve memory.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- As a communication design company, at the core of the office zoning are various free spaces that stimulate the imagination of the scene in which they are used, rather than being imposed by the current era. Everything that is placed is movable, and events are held regularly to create a space that continues to change. In terms of the environment, the lean design solves the problems of Japanese office design.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 400 employees work in a 2,400 sq. m. space utilizing a free address system.
- Tags
- office, spacedesign, workspace, movable furniture, reception
- Production Technology
- All fixtures are movable and have handles and stacking capabilities as well as casters.
The wooden flooring in the cafe zone is removable piece by piece, combining the comfort of a comfortable environment with the advantages of a changeable temporary space.
Graphic patterns are applied to the floor at regular intervals as a scale for changing exhibits. - Design Challenge
- Free space is difficult to use if everything is free. We challenged ourselves to create comfortable limitations.
We also decided what to keep from the old office while retaining some of the old tenant space.
We challenged ourselves to remake both the space and the products, not only for environmental friendliness, but also to pass on memories and culture. - Project Duration
- Project starts in spring 2023, construction completed in spring 2024.
- Operation Flow
- An office task force manages the place, and anyone can easily remake the space.
During the day, dozens of people meet openly in the morning.
In the afternoon, the space is used as an exhibition and cafe space for communication.
At night, it is constantly changing as a bar time, where a different kind of communication occurs. - Research
- In our survey of urban offices, we found that almost all tenants sign a contract for an office with all new space and then tear down all its finishes, demolishing and refinishing the interior twice.
This is a bad business practice and a contractual problem in Japan.
Furthermore, we found that although recently there has been an increase in designs that preserve the existing environment out of environmental considerations, offices are the only area that has not been improved at all. - Inspiration
- It is true that today's urban offices are required to be more comfortable and perform better, which is why they are often dismantled from the standard specifications that were cleaned up by the restoration work associated with the contract of the former tenants.
This time, we took over part of the former tenant's interior and took on the challenge of rethinking standard specifications that, while functional, tended to look old and shunned, and integrating them with the new space. - Image Credits
- Image #1~5: Photographer Daisuke Shima,2024
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