AMC — Kashiwa: an office like a small forest of cedar logs

Concept

The grove

First, insulated walls and interior windows were built inside the old walls, a nested insulation upgrade.

The plan is very ordinary: a flexible space at the centre ringed by fixed desks and meeting rooms. What makes it special is a grove of cedar logs standing in place of walls.

01 · Trees

No two logs alike

No two logs share the same thickness, shape or knots. Standing more or less densely, they divide the one-room space gently, so people half see each other. The tree motif returns in the floor tiles, the step, partitions and stools.

02 · Switch

A vivid powder room

The powder room is the opposite: vivid colours and geometry, a place to switch mood between tasks. The architects argue that if offices are still needed, it is simply to share a place, and an organic, varied place is far more fun than a uniform one.