Head Office of Azusa Sekkei

• Japan
• Public Spaces
• Offices

Circadian lighting that makes you aware of the time even indoors in a 5,300 m2 mega-plate office.

Azusa Sekkei moved to the third floor of a distribution warehouse located next to Haneda Airport by integrating its headquarters functions that used to be separated to Tennozu and Haneda. Mr. Shinichi Saito, Chief of the Architecture Department BASE 01 says "We created the framework with a runway on a mega-plate, installed a 100 m runway that goes from the entrance to the deep area as the company's face from which we can view the entire space. Four runways pass through the office vertically and horizontally and there are meeting spaces and community bases at the intersection. We aimed to see the faces of all members while we work together on the mega-plate. We advanced the free address system that we started before we moved and adopted an ABW-like concept such as lounge and concentration desks in addition to induction-type free addresses within each department. Working in the new office has increased the amount of our communication where designing work requires collaboration across departments."

The concept of lighting is "Diversity of light." The ultimate variable, diversified lighting environments are provided for supporting diversified working practices performed in the mega-plate. As letting in external light is difficult on a large floor, the office uses a light control that follows the circadian rhythm* that enables workers to feel the time through the tone of light and illuminance in accordance with the time of the day. A decrease in color temperature and illuminance at night is believed to reduce the burden on the body and improves operational efficiency.

*Circadian rhythm: 24-hour-cycle biological rhythm

Architecture Design Report vol. 32/Issued in February 2020
Note: Company names and job titles are as of the time of publication.