apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Look! Reverse Arch Doorway Offices

atla031008nendooffices.jpgWith doorways similar to those found on submarines, the offices at the Toyko design company Nendo evoke the shapes of draped cloth or even ocean waves...

 
 

atla031008nendooffices2.jpg"We wanted the usual spaces and functions – meeting space, management, workspace and storage – to be separate but also to maintain a sense of connection between them," says Nendo, "To achieve this effect we divided the space with walls that seem to sag and flop like a piece of cloth held up between two hands, enclosing the various spaces more than the usual office dividers but less than actual walls."

We love the upside down effect, but we'd definitely warn visitors to "watch their step".

[via Dezeen]

Tags

Look!

Related Links

Share

Comments (19)

Cool and everything, but what happened to accessibility? Hmm...

posted by giorgia on March 9th 2008 at 10:26pm
view giorgia's profile

I guess they don't have anybody working there who uses a wheelchair. Or customers who use wheelchairs. Or employees or customers who use walkers or have mobility issues in general.

Gosh. I guess I couldn't work there.

posted by Aldyth on March 10th 2008 at 3:54am
view Aldyth's profile

That's a waste of good plywood. Are there no wheelchair-bound people in Tokyo?

posted by Michael W. on March 10th 2008 at 3:56am
view Michael W.'s profile

I could just see carrying a pile of boxes/files and just getting your heel caught on that plywood- oops.

I'm shocked the fire marshall would approve this.

posted by tallguylehigh on March 10th 2008 at 4:01am
view tallguylehigh's profile

Don't people trip over the doorways?

posted by shan on March 10th 2008 at 4:11am
view shan's profile

close but no cigar.
screams potential lawsuit.
nice idea but shouldn't have been executed so literally.
I can imagine horrible tripping and gashing injuries!

posted by *heather leaf* on March 10th 2008 at 5:02am
view *heather leaf*'s profile

Yeah - it wouldn't have been hard to invert the arches while keeping the access open.

posted by Jaze on March 10th 2008 at 5:02am
view Jaze's profile

never mind wheelchairs, what about something as basic as someone spraining their ankle and using crutches? Or what about the fact that half this office is going to break their kneecaps/wrists every time they trip over a doorway?

I feel like this same visual effect could have been achieved if they'd just visually let the bottom of the doorway arches dip below the floor. As it stands, this seems design seems... mean.

posted by Deeliscious on March 10th 2008 at 6:28am
view Deeliscious's profile

I would trip 3-5x per day. Double that on Mondays.

posted by Liz on March 10th 2008 at 6:43am
view Liz's profile

It just looks like bad set design. The rooms also seem boring and uninspiring. They'd be better off dropping a few desks in a warehouse. I'd hate to work there.

posted by trishb on March 10th 2008 at 6:46am
view trishb's profile

I really like it, even though it would never fly in the US, for all the reasons mentioned above.

But if you ever go to Tokyo, look really carefully for someone who's handicapped, mobility impaired, or in a wheelchair. You'll be shocked to discover that you just will not see people who fits this description. As for lawsuit potential - what an American idea!

posted by Elizabeth on March 10th 2008 at 7:01am
view Elizabeth's profile

Elizabeth - are you saying there are no handicapped people in Tokyo or that Tokyo has made it virtually impossible for those people to be mobile on their own?

I have a feeling it is the latter and those people are left to stay at home and be cared for by a family member or something.

In the US we have ADA laws to protect those people and that while they can not walk, are still perfectly good productive members of society.

posted by Laura on March 10th 2008 at 7:36am
view Laura's profile

It is a sad fact that any kind of disability is not as accepted and catered to in Japan as it is here in the US. That's just how it is. I worked in a Japanese highschool and despite students getting injuries from sports, there were no elevators and very few easy access ramps. I'm not surprised that this aspect of design thinking, while natural and necessary for Americans, was absent in the Nendo office design. However, I still admire their innovation and willing to do something "different" for their office environment.

posted by spaceagemouse on March 10th 2008 at 7:47am
view spaceagemouse's profile

I guess they don't have a "JDA".

posted by Devyn on March 10th 2008 at 7:59am
view Devyn's profile

The accessibility issues aside, it would have been better aesthetics to have the arches 'sunken' into the floor. It would have given the partitions a sense of permanence that the design badly needs. Also, I think I would have arranged the window-like arches to be more staggered. I think it would look more purposeful, more designed, if every partition wasn't identical.

posted by lurker2209 on March 10th 2008 at 8:57am
view lurker2209's profile

That's a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

posted by surferartchick on March 10th 2008 at 9:16am
view surferartchick's profile

That's nothing a disgruntled employee with a jig-saw can't fix.

posted by pb on March 10th 2008 at 3:58pm
view pb's profile

I think it's nauseating.

posted by theblt on March 10th 2008 at 4:02pm
view theblt's profile

The comments are odd.
When I looked at the pictures, I assumed these were the walls, and that there were doors outside of the viewing range. I don't think that everyone is meant to walk through that.

posted by jakelegs on March 11th 2008 at 7:58am
view jakelegs's profile

Feeds

RSS icon Los Angeles

+ City Feeds