In 2014, Allied Works met with Global Creative Director John C. Jay and CEO Tadashi Yanai to discuss the design for Fast Retailing’s new headquarters and flagship creative studio in the Ariake District of Tokyo. Completed in January of 2017 and spanning a single 4.5 acre floor plate, the project provides workspace, product and showroom testing facilities for staff and international co-workers from across the globe.

The design concept draws from the energy and organizational logic of the city. A meandering interior street runs the length of the workspace, punctuated by social spaces and interior courts that provide areas of intimacy, reflection and connection to the elements. Shared resources, meeting rooms, resource libraries, digital information hubs and other social amenities are directly connected to the street, and create thresholds to a suite of design and production studios for individual working groups. The work lofts may be rapidly reconfigured to address shifts in product development. Both the street and the social spaces allow employees to be seen and interact in new ways, and equally, remain connected to the world outside and the ever-changing landscape of fashion.