AnOffice Designed to Foster Change, Growth, and Creativity

In 1924, Takeo Yasui established his architectural office following the completion of the Osaka Club . 100 years later, Yasui Architects & Engineers celebrated its centenary by relocating its Tokyo office from Hirakawa-cho in Chiyoda City to Kanda Mitoshiro-cho, also in Chiyoda City.
The chosen site for the new office is an office building approximately 60 years old. The renovation plan was determined through an internal competition that saw the participation of 62 employees, ranging from individuals to teams of over 10 members, submitting a total of 20 proposals. External stakeholders were also involved in the process, and the judging session, held in September 2022, was live-streamed and made accessible to the entire company.
The winning proposal was submitted by a team of three—Yuta Sugiki, Hikaru Matsubara , and Nene Kobayashi —who subsequently took the lead in designing the new Tokyo office. With “freedom, autonomy, self-governance, independence, and self-discipline ” as their guiding principles, the team’s proposal emphasized not only the evolution of workstyles but also the firm’s relationship with the urban environment. A key feature of their vision was the establishment of the Mitoshiro Creative District (hereafter “the District”) on the ground floor of the new office.
“We saw this competition as a unique opportunity to articulate our vision for the future of workspaces and working styles to the company,” explain Sugiki and Matsubara. “Our first step was to clearly define what we wanted to achieve. As we developed our ideas, it became apparent that the focus was not just on the physical design of the office. What mattered most was communicating the mindset that underpins it. Ultimately, we aligned on proposing a space that embodies how we want to work and where we genuinely want to be.“

The relocation of the Tokyo office stemmed from the need to address challenges posed by a dispersed workplace, where employees were spread across multiple buildings and floors, hindering effective communication as the workforce expanded. For an architectural practice operating in an industry with a notable environmental footprint, the relocation was not merely a logistical decision but an opportunity to reflect and communicate its approach to societal engagement. After careful consideration of the environmental impacts of human activity, the firm decided to avoid large-scale construction and instead repurpose an existing building through renovation.
Koji Muramatsu , the Executive Vice President who led the relocation initiative, highlights the rationale behind selecting the Kanda area and a building spanning three floors of a structure approximately 60 years old:
“For an architectural office, it is essential to actively engage with society. Traditionally, architectural firms often wait for commissions to come to them, and we have struggled to take the initiative in connecting proactively. Locating our office at ground level, where it can directly interact with the community, is a vital step in building those connections. In this competition, the proposal that emphasized new ways of working and innovative use of the first floor resonated strongly—not only with the internal and external judges but also in the preliminary company-wide vote. This clearly demonstrates the importance of designing spaces that open up to the community.”
The winning proposal focused on two key aspects: opening the first floor to the community and redefining working styles. While the proposal initially centered on the first floor, the team began designing the second and third floors by carefully reviewing all other submissions from the competition.
“We introduced a free-address system instead of fixed desks, created a gallery on the first floor, and designed a space to invite the local community inside. Several of the submitted proposals aligned closely with our vision, so we drew inspiration from them while extending the core principles of autonomy and independence, which define the Creative District, to the second and third floors,” explains Kobayashi. “However, translating the concept of an office that fosters autonomy into specific layouts and spatial configurations required substantial deliberation.”

How did the young architects feel about taking on the renovation of a building nearly 60 years old?
“To be honest, I wasn’t particularly fixated on the age of the building,” says Sugiki. “What excited me more was the idea of moving into a building in Kanda, a historic downtown district that has survived the test of time. Combining this with the challenge of designing how the first floor would interact with its surroundings made it especially compelling.”
“The mention of 60 years immediately made me think of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics,” adds Kobayashi. “I was thrilled to work on the renovation of a building with such history and character. When thinking about the first-floor space, I wanted to consider how it could become a place for people to engage with the city, especially as opportunities for meaningful interaction with the community have diminished. Yasui has always been conscious of its connection to the city, as demonstrated by events like Hirakawa-cho Musics . However, those events didn’t always involve the entire staff, so I hope the Creative District becomes a space where employees can freely engage with the city on their own terms.”
Despite the constraints of an older structure, such as low ceiling heights, the renovation was guided by the principle of revealing and celebrating the building’s inherent character.
“We felt that the value of a 60-year-old building could be best expressed by exposing its structure,” Sugiki explains. “I wanted to strip back even more, but removing walls affects the floors and ceilings, which brings additional complications. Balancing these goals with cost considerations was a key part of the process.”
The openness of the office is immediately apparent to visitors. The three floors are connected through voids and central staircases, creating a seamless, unified space. Meeting rooms feature glass walls, ensuring visibility throughout the office.
“There were some concerns about whether there were enough meeting rooms or whether the acoustics would be problematic, but we made a deliberate decision to minimize walls,” says Sugiki. “Even when partitions were necessary, we used glass or vinyl curtains to maintain transparency.”
This focus on visibility has fostered a workplace culture where employees actively take ownership of their environment.
“Closed-door meetings can create the illusion that decisions have been made when, in fact, no real conclusions were reached,” explains Muramatsu. “Nothing productive comes from working in isolation, so we felt it was better to create an environment that was entirely open.”
This philosophy extends throughout the office, where there are no dedicated rooms for executives or the president. Instead, the design prioritizes a flat, open environment that encourages natural interactions. The new layout, where people are always in view, has significantly improved communication. After nine months in the new office, Matsubara reflects on its impact:
“It’s become much easier to see what other departments are working on and to identify who’s involved in which projects. Hearing snippets of conversations has given us a better understanding of what’s happening across the company, and it’s also made it easier to connect with colleagues from different generations.”
The new office embodies the idea of creating a workplace where employees take an active role in shaping their environment, fostering a culture of engagement. This ethos has even earned the space WELL Certification at the Gold level. With intentional “unfinished” elements, the office leaves room for growth and evolution, allowing it to continuously adapt to the changing needs and mindset of its users.