SONY CREATIVE CENTER HQ OFFICE by KOKUYO Co., Ltd and Sony Corporation
The headquarters office of Sony Creative Center, the design department of Sony. The office is dedicated to allowing members from around the world to gather, interact and stimulate growth, aiming to maximize their creativity for continued innovation. It empowers both “Collaborative” and “Solo” creation by offering an easily-accessible [Co-Creation] space for exchanging ideas and a personal [Creation] workstation. The “Arcade” is the signature facility that runs through the center of the office. It serves as the driving force for creativity among designers with two features; one for everyday use, where members can meet and gather ideas right from their seats, and the other for non-daily use, where it is used as a place to facilitate cross communication.
Solution
The office empowers both designers’ solo and collaborative creations in Sony’s creative department, with a strategic combination of [Co-Creation] --a meeting space and [Creation]-- a comfortable personal workstation. The straight-lined “Arcade” in the center of the office functions as a place where members can meet and gather ideas, and also works as an exhibition space for in-house events. The Arcade is equally and easily accessible for all members wherever their personal workstation is situated. The central part of the Arcade is a well-equipped atelier with carefully selected material samples and books to be shared among the members. The personal workstation facilitates the designers’ creative output, keeping them away from the hustle and bustle at the Arcade.
The complex idea of achieving high accessibility and usability between [Co-Creation], a meeting space, and [Creation], a comfortable personal workspace to empower innovation has been embodied in an extremely simple manner.
Design & Function
The adjustable height counters at the Arcade are designed to increase convenience and efficiency by serving as meeting tables for daily sessions and as display stands during events.
The central atelier is decorated with furniture such as designers’ work desks, showcases for books and magazines, as well as storage cabinets, all made with a single-color Lauan plywood to create a sense of unity, while their functions are carefully tailored for best performance.
The personal workstation is sub-divided into smaller groups with partitions to maximize designers’ focus. Each face-to-face-four-person work unit is strategically designed to facilitate easy communication among the members.
