TORAFU architects’ japan creation center is a collaborative ‘outside in’ space for designers

TORAFU architects reveals the Arc’teryx headquarters in Japan

TORAFU architects unveils the Tokyo Creation Center, the headquarters for the outdoor equipment company Arc’teryx. Apart from the brand’s headquarters, this multi-layer renovated reinforced concrete building, serves as a hub for Japanese and international designers to collaborate on product design, development, and prototyping alongside athletes. The ‘Outside In’ design concept fosters a connection between interior and exterior spaces. The facility, featuring one basement and two aboveground floors, includes a first-floor sewing and work area for prototypes, a second-floor office for designers, a basement multi-purpose community space, a fabric cutting workshop, a warehouse, and a rooftop gathering space with scenic views. 

Tokyo Creation Center reflects the city’s culture and aesthetics

Visitors enter through an automatic door made of slanted, indigo-dyed boards that form Arc’teryx initial. Inside, TORAFU architects covers the atrium-facing wall with cypress display shelves, showcasing the brand’s archives and reflecting Japanese and Tokyo culture, craftsmanship, and aesthetics. The production area, centered around sewing machines, features a circular layout with fan-shaped cutting tables and a sound-absorbing cypress-louvered ceiling. The architecture and design duo placed an office with a courtyard view adjacent to this space, reminiscent of Japanese mountain scenery. The second-floor office space, designed for global designers, includes large cutting tables near desks, facilitating the transition between individual and collaborative work. Display shelves from the first floor and a consistent louvered ceiling emphasize unity between levels.

the facility’s interior showcases mountain-themed artworks

The basement event space opens fully via three sliding doors, accommodating both indoor and outdoor events. The workshop, partitioned by glass walls, is backed by organized materials and tools. A light curtain ceiling enhances work efficiency and creates a gallery-like effect, extending through the stairwell to connect the basement and first floor. The rooftop, accessed by an exterior staircase, features two levels of relaxing terraces. A bench crafted from 12 preserved Yanasesugi tree stumps, illuminated in the evenings, forms a ring shape, offering a special spot to enjoy the view. This design embodies Arc’teryx’s commitment to nature and design communication. The facility also includes mountain-themed artworks to reflect the brand’s origins. Notable works include washi craftsman Hatano Wataru’s calligraphy in the basement conference room, indigo farmer and dyer BUAISOU’s work near the first-floor office, TSUBAKI’s courtyard artwork with native Japanese plants, Japanese artist Ishiyama Kazuhiro’s two-dimensional Himalayan mountain piece in the second-floor lounge, and manga artist Yuichi Yokoyama’s wall art featuring a Mt. Fuji poem motif in the second-floor conference room.

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project info:

name: Arc’teryx Tokyo Creation Center
architect: TORAFU architects | @torafuarchitects 
location: Tokyo, Daikanyama, Japan
production: D.BRAIN
lighting design: BRANCH LIGHTING DESIGN
landscape design: TSUBAKI
furniture: Karimoku | @karimoku_official
yanase cedar: KIDZUKI | @kidzuki_official
indigo dyeing: BUAISOU | @buaisou_i
wooden office table: Wataru Kumano | @watarukumano
interior styling: Yusuke Takeuchi | @116.107.107
art: BF Wataru Hatano, 1F TSUBAKI・BUAISOU, 2F Kazuhiro Ishiyama, Yuichi Yokoyama
area: B1F: 307.30 sqm/1F: 259.78 sqm/2F: 198.53 sqm
photographer: Tomooki Kengaku | @kentomoooo
drone movie: Joel Fuller | @joelkfuller

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