Necessity, or in this case, being close to the shipping room, can be the mother of invention. Tasked with transforming a shared office space with limited means, all while maintaining flexibility and functionality, Tokyo's Hiroki Tominaga Atelier turned to a raw material known for its utility: the shipping pallet. Their simple shape and unadorned texture make these structures ideal building blocks for the renovation of this ground-floor space, expensive real estate that required a contemporary update on the cheap. The entire project required just 130 pallets and no carpenters, with the cheaper pieces utilized for the slatted ceiling and the thicker, more polished boards forming a smooth floor. Some were even stacked and turned into tables. The budget-friendly office renovation almost recalls a row of shoji screens (albeit ones that can be moved with a forklift). And even without hiring carpenters, the architects were able to create a movable hatch at street level, providing extra privacy when the room is rented for private events.
·More Office Space posts [Curbed]
·Previous Japan coverage [Curbed]