This project renovated the commercial area of the Panasonic IMP Building, an office building in Osaka Business Park. As the station previously planned for this building still remains underground, we chose the station as concept design motif, hoping that the building would become a hub where people gather, as in the previous plan. The round columns that extend across the multiple floors of the facility were given a strong mortar-like finish and metal framing to create the base of a colonnaded space reminiscent of a station. In the atrium on the west side, this framing forms a continuous arch shape like the station's arcade, and by responding to the existing R ceiling, it creates a sense of unity with the atrium. Within this, the black/gold/verdigris colors and stone wall/plum shapes of the Osaka Castle adjacent to the building were incorporated into the FF&E and fixtures, giving it an affinity with the memories that this land has inherited from 400 years ago. In addition, as many companies are creating environments where people can work outside the office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a place to work in the common areas of the commercial area and explored how a commercial office building could fit new work styles. Furniture has been placed throughout the commercial area to meet a wide range of needs, from meetings to individual work. Each piece of furniture has been designed with various ingenious features, such as sofas with L-shaped expandable tops, high-back chairs that limit visibility and improve concentration, and counter chairs with coat hangers. Plants have been placed as partitions to ensure comfort, and the space can be used primarily as a workplace on weekdays and as a rest area for tourists on weekends. As an open workplace where a variety of people can gather, including not only office workers in the IMP Building but also those working within Osaka Business Park and even visitors to the city, we aimed to create a place where new ways of working and new communication can be born.
