JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED OFFICESConcept
A studio that grew sideways, one floor at a time
Ponos has been in Kyoto since long before mobile games existed, and the way it has expanded shows: not one office but three, on floors taken as they became available, each with a different character and all of them joined by permanent video links.
The Edo office is the one with the most personality. At one end of it, a mural covers a wall in a burst of red and pattern. At the other, a brick wall carries the company name in cut letters, with shelves of figures and a mannequin beneath it. Between them are wooden meeting tables, desks lit by green pendant shades, and a pantry. The Stella office is the more orderly one — aquariums, a long timber conference table, booths, a canteen — and the head office keeps the theatrical parts, including an entrance that is projection-mapped.
01 · The Edo office
A name on a green wall
The company name is set against a wall of moss-like planting, lit from the side; opposite it, a brick wall holds shelves of figures and the name again in cut letters.
02 · The mural, and the tables
Colour at one end of the floor
One wall of the Edo office is given over to a mural in red and black. The meeting furniture beside it is plain timber, under pendant shades in green enamel.
03 · Desks and pantry
Where the day goes
The working desks run in long rows under the pendants. The pantry is a narrow room with a microwave and a fridge at one end.
04 · The lounge
A screen, and somewhere to sit in front of it
At the end of the Edo office a lounge is set out with benches, plants and a screen — the room where the studio watches things together.
05 · The Stella office
Aquariums, and a long table
The Stella office runs to open desks with shelving between them, a long timber conference table under a screen, a green sofa room, and a canteen with a daily set meal.
