“Super furniture” Snøhetta organises Pangaea co-working space in Tokyo
Architecture: Snøhetta
Client: Tech company Digital Garage
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Huge ribbons of wood provide desk surfaces in this co-working space in Tokyo, created by architecture firm Snøhetta for Japanese tech company Digital Garage.
Snøhetta developed both the interior design and the visual identity for Digital Garage’s new co-working brand, Pangaea.
The wooden furniture is made from Japanese cedar
The company plans to open workspaces and offices in its various locations around the world.
However, this one, located on the 10th floor of a new building complex in Shibuya, will serve as a test track for ideas.
It incorporates desks, seating area and a reception desk
The name, Pangaea, was the starting point for the design – Pangaea was a supercontinent during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic era that broke up to create today’s continents.
Digital Garage wanted to create a space that encourages people of different cultures and backgrounds to come together and collaborate.
As a boutique office space for digital nomads, the space commemorates a time and place where geographical, political, and national constructs were not an obstacle.
Overhead, 534 hanging lights create undulating patterns
This concept led the designers to fill the space with “super furniture”, rather than adding individual tables or desks.
Two large wooden objects curve through the entire space, serving various different functions. They incorporate both seating areas and surfaces, so they can be used by numerous people simultaneously.
The wooden furniture gives the room a natural scent
Constructed as a metaphor for both tactility and fluidity, the super furniture encompasses all core functions of a co-working space: a reception, an amphitheater, phone booths, meeting spaces and individual workspaces.
The furniture also prompts its users towards a greater vision through daily interactions with the co-working space and one another.
The co-working space in located on the 10th floor of a building in Shibuya
Seating is provided by chairs and stools that match the dark tone of the flooring, while 534 suspended light bulbs give a topography to the ceiling.
The space is framed by linoleum-fronted cabinets and acoustic textile wall panels, which together create an abstract image of Mount Fuji as a backdrop.
It is the first of several Pangaea spaces planned
Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.
