Tama Shinkin Bank — Tachikawa: a bank office without islands of desks

Concept

Breaking the mould

The bank wanted a flat, open workplace with better communication, free address and far fewer documents.

A landmark committee of executives met 97 times, and a “dream project” of staff with under ten years’ service fed ideas into the plan.

01 · Seamless

End-to-end views

The floors can be seen from end to end, with a communication zone at the centre.

02 · Windmill

Four-seat tables, staggered

Work areas use a windmill layout of four-person tables, so every seat is a corner seat and sightlines cross between teams.

03 · Paper

Rules rewritten

Document-management rules were reviewed from scratch, cutting paper sharply ahead of the move.