Biogen Offices – Tokyo
Steven Leach Group has designed the new offices of Biogen located in Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district, a key business area within central Tokyo, is currently undergoing aggressive redevelopment with an aim to establish the area in proximity to Tokyo station as a life science and pharmaceutical hub attracting both domestic and multinational companies.
After undergoing a tremendous workstyle transformation in their newly constructed flagship campus in the US under Ed Dondero, Director of RE&Planning of Biogen, a similar process was foreseen for their operations in Japan to improve the working environment. To this end, SL+A was tasked with the Interior Design and the Change Management for their new office in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
The goal of the exercise was to integrate elements and findings of Biogen’s US campus with local cultural requirements and survey results gathered from Biogen Japan employees.
With the great support of Sho Oshikawa, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Operations & Technology Japan and Asia Pacific Distribution, and Ryosuke Arai, Associate, Office Management, SL+A interviewed business unit managers and held several workshop sessions with representatives of each BU. Users who had been hesitant of change at first gradually embraced the new workstyle concept built around a variety of focus and collaboration settings.
Presentation of best practice examples by SL+A and the findings of workshops identifying the future vision of Biogen Japan shaped the roadmap for the design of the project. A key issue that needed to be addressed was the implementation of a workplace complementing the employee centric approach of Biogen, “One Team, One Biogen”.
Design: Steven Leach Group
Photography: Nacasa & Partners
