Egao — Kumamoto: a canteen for two hundred and fifty, a gym, and two nurseries

Concept

Everything a town would have, put inside one building

The list of what this building contains reads less like an office and more like a small town: a hall, a canteen for two hundred and fifty, a pub, a gym with a studio, two nurseries. The company’s stated reason is simple and circular — employees who are happy can deliver happiness to customers — and the building takes that sentence at face value.

Two of the items are worth stopping on. The nurseries are open from half past seven in the morning until half past eight at night, because the company runs shifts; that is a specific answer to a specific problem rather than a benefit on a list. And the izakaya exists for something the company calls kanba-kai, a meeting where staff are expected to say what they actually think. Building a room for that is an admission that it does not happen in the other rooms.

01 · The reception hall

One room, three jobs

The hall is bright and plain, with the company mark on the end wall. It takes meetings with partners, all-staff gatherings and company events in turn.

02 · The call centre

A void at the centre of the building

The call centre sits in the middle of the building under a full-height void, so that the departments around it can reach each other quickly and everyone is within earshot of what customers are saying.

03 · The canteen

Two hundred and fifty seats, and a tree

The canteen seats two hundred and fifty and runs a daily menu calculated for nutrition and calories, with a café attached. A tree stands in the middle of the room.

04 · The izakaya

For saying it out loud

A pub is built into the company’s own premises, timber-lined, and used for the frank-speaking sessions the company calls kanba-kai.

05 · Gym, nursery, and somewhere to stop

The rest of the town

The gym is fitted out with machines and a studio, with outside trainers brought in for yoga and pilates. Two nurseries run from half past seven to half past eight. A relaxation room with massage chairs sits alongside, and there are meeting rooms on every floor.