JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED OFFICESConcept
A company that builds offices, building its own
NTT Data Customer Service builds offices for other companies in its group, and in 2022 it turned that knowledge on itself. The head office was fully renewed around Activity Based Working, and stated as three concepts: activate collaboration, let people choose the right space for the task, and — the one that gives the project away — practise it ourselves first, then tell customers about it.
The clearest result is the meeting rooms. Each is given a colour, and each colour is given a job: blue to cool a discussion down, green to relax it, yellow for happiness and a positive image, orange for the feeling of familiarity. Booking a room therefore means choosing a temperature, not just a time slot.
01 · The magnet space
Where people are meant to collide
The company names one area the magnet space and describes its purpose plainly: somewhere people meet and conversation spreads. It sits at the entrance to the floor, with a counter and stools.
02 · Collaboration
Furniture that moves
The collaboration space is described as changing shape freely according to the scene and the number of people. Alongside it, collaboration booths take online meetings and small discussions.
03 · The meeting space
Greenery, and a lower register
A meeting area designed to feel open and natural, intended for relaxed discussion and for the kind of conversation that starts with someone asking a quick question.
04 · Free address
Sit where the day suits you
The working floor is free address: a seat is chosen according to mood and task rather than assigned.
05 · Booths
Shut the room out
Private booths cut the surrounding sound for online meetings; solo work spaces and semi-solo booths sit between the open floor and the fully enclosed room.
06 · The lab area
Where the kit lives
A lab area on the same floor, fitted with monitors and equipment, keeps the technical work in sight of the rest of the office.
