JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED OFFICES
01 · Shibuya, Tokyo
MIXI
The internal staircase
Walls are kept to a minimum and every floor is linked by an internal staircase, so chance meetings are part of the plan.
Read the MIXI office →COLLECTIONS › INTERNAL STAIRCASES
Collection
Internal staircases — 13 of Japan’s best
Stairs that tie the floors together — offices in Japan that chose a staircase over the lift.
An internal staircase joins floors that lifts keep apart. In these offices the stair is also seating, a meeting place and the centre of the building.
02 · Takeshiba, Tokyo
SoftBank
Internal staircase
An open internal staircase links the floors.
Read the SoftBank office →
03 · Shibuya, Tokyo
SANSAN
The internal stairs
The four main work floors, 29F to 32F, are linked by internal stairs.
Read the SANSAN office →
06 · Kanon-shinmachi, Hiroshima
MOLTEN
The stair, close up
The great stair cuts diagonally through the void and ties the divisions together on the way up.
Read the MOLTEN office →
07 · Nishi-Oi, Tokyo
NIKON
The great stair, used as seating
The ground-floor atrium is a stepped hall with a large screen: the great stair doubles as seating.
Read the NIKON office →
08 · Kyōbashi, Tokyo
TODA CORPORATION
The stair, with text set into the concrete
The main stair is concrete and glass, with large English lettering cast into the wall.
Read the TODA CORPORATION office →
09 · Otemachi, Tokyo
MITSUI & CO.
The stair from the concourse
A void runs from the second basement to the ground floor, with a great stair carrying people up from the subway.
Read the MITSUI & CO. office →
10 · Azabudai, Tokyo
BAYCURRENT
The stair and its artwork
The reception runs in stone, with a stair curving up through it.
Read the BAYCURRENT office →
11 · Toranomon, Tokyo
MIZUHO LEASING
The internal stair
Three floors, one staircase.
Read the MIZUHO LEASING office →
Questions
About this collection
Which offices in Japan feature in “Internal staircases”?
WALL has picked 13: MIXI (Shibuya, Tokyo), SoftBank (Takeshiba, Tokyo), SANSAN (Shibuya, Tokyo), Rakuten (Futako-Tamagawa, Tokyo), QVC Japan (Makuhari, Chiba), MOLTEN (Kanon-shinmachi, Hiroshima), NIKON (Nishi-Oi, Tokyo), TODA CORPORATION (Kyōbashi, Tokyo), MITSUI & CO. (Otemachi, Tokyo), BAYCURRENT (Azabudai, Tokyo), MIZUHO LEASING (Toranomon, Tokyo), UZABASE (Marunouchi, Tokyo), YANMAR (Chayamachi, Osaka).
Where in Japan are these offices?
They are spread across 4 places: Tokyo (10), Chiba (1), Hiroshima (1), Osaka (1).
Can I visit these offices?
Most are private workplaces and not open to the public. WALL reports on them from the companies’ own published material; each office page links to its source.
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