JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED OFFICES
Concept
LIVE × RALLY
The name stacks two meanings: LIVE — living connections — and RALLY — ideas gathering. It began as an idea for a library-like archive of games and books, and grew into a co-creation space for the whole group.
The general affairs team surveyed employees first. The most common request was simple: a place to come quickly and meet quickly. Watching coworking spaces feed new businesses among startups, the team decided to build one inside the company — with its many divisions and group companies as the startups.
01 · Welcome
READY! at the door
The entrance spells LIVE-RALLY and READY! in the Pac-Man font, and a monitor just inside plays how-to-use guides and company news all day.
02 · Open meeting area
Come quickly, meet quickly
The first area answers the top request from the employee survey. Tables are chosen to be light and movable, so groups of any size can rearrange the space in seconds.
03 · Free space
Hammocks, putter golf and two arcade classics
Behind it, the free space feels like the outdoors: wooden chairs, camp chairs, hammocks. Putter golf is part of the entertainment, arcade cabinets of Pac-Man and Galaga stand in the corner, and a pantry pours drinks — including the general affairs team’s ever-changing “whim menu”.
04 · LIVE-RALLY SQUARE
A stepped plaza with a skyline view
The square looks out from the 12th floor and comes wired for events: screen, sound, and tiered sofa seating on the steps. The opening event here was a talk by the president to the whole company.
05 · Semi-closed meetings
Booths for focus, sofas for candour
A calmer area holds solo-focus booths and walled sofa boxes where teams can argue without an audience. The wall reads “LIVE-RALLY — The place of co-creation”, and a Ghost hides in the details.
06 · Game area
Play the products
At the centre, shelves of books and magazines circle a sofa space with a giant screen. The concierge counter lends consoles and software — released and unreleased — so teams can test games together. A dodgebee may fly past: throwing it indoors is officially allowed.
