Designer Insights: The Future of Offices
Vol.4 Expressing a Company’s Identity
– The Role of Office Space
Offices reflect the “nature of the company”
Exhibition spaces are the bread and butter of Mr. Nakahara’s work. They are out-of-the-ordinary spaces meant for supplying visitors with high volumes of detailed information. Meanwhile, the interview for this article got him thinking more deeply about offices again.
“I feel that office spaces reflect the direction of the company and the personalities of the people that work there. Whether meeting rooms are grand or casual already has a notable effect on the atmosphere. I used to think that all that matters for offices is a design that is functional and makes it easy to work there, but another aspect is the nature of the company, or in other words, design that expresses what the company seeks to do.”
Photo by OOKI JINGU
“When I designed the ITOKI booth for ORGATEC TOKYO, I visited their showroom. Multiple items were set up together to create systems and they had developed products that take into account the user being human, with human mentalities. That made me think, ‘offices are actually pretty interesting.’ The people working and the projects they work on are diverse, the online and physical spaces coexist, and even the company expresses itself. Offices evolve to have functions suited to all of this.”
Photo by OOKI JINGU
“In my work, the topic is always different. Sometimes it’s environmental issues, other times it’s fashion. Therefore, the answers are different each time and I need to feel around to find the right techniques. What’s important is research: how far can you get and how can you compile and present that.”
“I have worked on rather few offices, even counting Ms. Tabei’s office. Still, the way of thinking is the same. You don’t choose a set design for a company based on the kind of industry they work in; rather, the answers should vary depending on the nature of the company. Perhaps you need to view every detail as deserving of bespoke design.”