Inabata & Co., Ltd., founded in 1890, has completed its relocation to a new headquarters building in Nihombashi, Tokyo, creating an office that is convenient and comfortable for employees following 3 years and 3 months of trials at a temporary office.
The article describes the decision to rebuild the former headquarters against a backdrop of seismic-resistance concerns, inconvenient workflows, and longstanding problems summed up as “dark, cramped and old.” From a long-term cash-flow perspective, management chose to own its headquarters building and made use of the Nihombashi location near Tokyo Station.
At the temporary office, the company promoted paperless operations, discontinued fixed-line telephones and experimented with a free-address seating system. Through repeated dialogue, it advanced experiments in organizational design to encourage employees to consult with their supervisors, including the use of fixed desks for senior managers alongside the free-address system.
The new headquarters aims to be “an office that is convenient for all employees, enables them to take on challenges and grow, and makes them proud.” It includes open spaces that incorporate natural light, such as World Terrace on the 9th floor, and uses slab-to-slab construction to prevent sound leakage from meeting rooms.
The design respects the company’s culture, including by locating the executive floor on an intermediate level, and preserves its history by displaying the gas lamps from its founding and rice-ear reliefs. It also incorporates an intermediate seismic-isolation structure, a design with power supplies installed on the upper floors, and environmentally conscious features including CASBEE certification and ZEB Ready. Following the relocation, the office received a positive response, particularly from younger and female employees.