Project: Salesforce Tokyo Ohana Floor
Award: Workspace Interiors - Communal Areas, 2024
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Design practice: Mark Cavagnero Associates
Client: Salesforce
Salesforce Tokyo Ohana Floor provides a tranquil communal space for employees, customers and guests on the top floor of Salesforce Tokyo, the software company’s 22-storey tower in the heart of the city. Offering panoramic views of central Tokyo and the Imperial Palace and Gardens next door, its name reflects the intention for it to deepen the company’s commitment to Ohana - a Hawaiian term for family.
The expansive open floor accommodates up to 300 guests and contains a barista bar, an exhibition kitchen, a formal dining room and a flexible meeting/presentation space.
The floor’s centrepiece is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Japanese house and garden, including a living room for informal gatherings and a horigotatsu (table low to the ground) room for traditional dining.
Design highlights
The primary material of the home includes traditional Japanese hinoki cypress, used in some of the oldest temples in the world, while glass panels framed in hinoki serve as moveable walls to emulate shoji screens. These sliding glass panels allow for a variety of spatial configurations to accommodate everything from private meetings to an open stage for large performances. The house is surrounded by a traditional Japanese garden, including native trees, low-lying vegetation and a reflecting pool. To ensure accessibility to the house for all, a gentle ramp over the reflecting pool provides universal access to the engawa. During the day, the house is a popular place for employees and guests to sit and take in the sweeping views of the city over a cup of coffee, while at night, it is centre stage for private dinners or community fund raisers.
Photo credit: Forward Stroke
PRINCIPAL: Mark Cavagnero
PRINCIPAL: Brandon Joo
SENIOR ASSOCIATE: Chris Lee
ASSOCIATE: Amy Chang
Philbert Wiradjaja
Tom Bliska
Andrew Doyle
Kathryn Jerman
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: Obayashi Corporation
LANDSCAPE: Sola Associates / Atelier Fuuchi
STRUCTURAL/MEP/LIGHTING/AV/ACOUSTICS/SECURITY: Arup
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Teecom
FOOD SERVICE: Mark Stech-Novak Restaurant Consulting / Y. Inoue Office
FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES: The Wiseman Group / Time & Style
LEED: Brightworks
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Obayashi Corporation
OWNER'S REPRESENTATIVE: Cushman Wakefield