nendo rethinks the office space for kokuyo exhibition at orgatec 2014

nendo rethinks the office space for kokuyo exhibition at orgatec 2014
all photos by hiroshi iwasaki

nendo responds to the standardization of office furniture — while our demands of the environments in which we work are becoming more diverse, the desks, chairs, shelves and other objects we engage in within the workplace haven’t varied as much — by proposing five unconventional, collaborative work environments.

‘object 02’

partnering with japanese brand kokuyo furniture, nendo tries to simultaneously capture the spirit of the company’s products that is expressed through the fundamental principles of the bureau, while asking what exactly an ‘office’ is. in ‘shelf + desk + chair = office’, an exhibition for kokuyo presented at orgatec 2014, nendo breaks down the elements of an office into smaller parts and then re-arranges them to create new relationships between the furniture pieces, exploring the future possibilities of the workplace. rather than going for the typical smooth and glossy, nendo has applied a matte finish and carried the black throughout the entire design scheme which includes combinations of kokuyo’s inspine chair, the rough, primitive shelving and table created in arresting contrast.

profile of ‘object 02’ which sees work surfaces, flooring and shelving combined in a vertical way

‘object 02’ sees desks and floorspace emerging, as supposed ‘shelves’ extend to the left and right, transforming the storage unit’s vertical levels into office three-dimensionality.

tables and work surfaces extend from a central shelving unit proposing new levels of working

‘object 03’

desks extend from shelves that meld with one another into a single work island, with spaces cut out amongst the overlapping surfaces in ‘object 03’. the scheme offers an alternative spatial relationship between desks, and proposes new ways of gathering together, in which individuals are enclosed by their desks, rather than sitting and facing them. 

cut-outs in the overlapping surfaces bring about an alternative way of gathering in the office

detail of the cut-outs

‘object 05’

‘object 05’ see shelves jutting outwards to form a staircase, which ultimately offers a pace in which to sit. from behind this extension one finds an enclosed desk space. the design is a thought experiment in the relationship between dynamic and static environments, and the different functions of front and back.

detail of the shelves extending out into benches to create a staircase

‘object 01’

removing some shelves of a larger unit provides space for those existing to be envisioned as a desk. ‘object 01’ explores this boundary between horizontal surfaces intended for storage, and those intended for work.

part of a shelf is removed so that it may function as a built-in desk

‘object 04’

resting and waiting functions appear when office chairs are partially absorbed into the shelf in ‘object 04’. the arrangement of furniture takes into consideration the boundary between ‘on-‘ (office) and ‘off-duty’ (lobby and amenity) furniture.

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