Next-generation Environmental Office The client’s request for this office building to be an R&D location of Sony Corporation was that it be low-impact on the environment and a pleasant place to work. Our design concentrates the R&D and office functions in one building and promotes exchange among the engineers.

The open workplace design is well suited to product development involving participants who need to be able to meet and disperse quickly. The expansive space uninterrupted by pillars is conductive to good communication. The balconies surrounding all the workplace floors create an environment in which people can feel safe working even on higher floors.

The bioskin exterior system was also adopted to reduce air conditioning load by circulating stored rainwater and vaporcooling the exterior walls. The way this system works, moreover, has the altruistic environmental effect of cooling down the area around the building as well, thereby mitigating the heat-island phenomenon that has plagued many urban areas.

The landscaping, too, is designed for continuity with that of neighbouring buildings, creating what we hope will form a large urban “cool spot” in front of the Osaki railway station.