Tasked with designing a new office space for Pokémon co-owner Creatures Inc., Nendo has taken inspiration from the hugely popular trading cards that the company is known for. The result is a whimsical work space defined by thousands of reproduction steel trading cards.
The new office is situated in Creatures Inc.'s existing Tokyo headquarters and Nendo's work was centered around its interior design, with the focus being on creating an eye-catching entrance and meeting space that would be flexible and future-proof.
"Since its release in October 1996, Pokémon Trading Card Game has long been loved by fans worldwide," explained Nendo. "What makes the cards so special is that every piece is filled with creative ideas with a touch of emotional value. Thus, the interior design of the office naturally came to reference such vocabulary from the manufacturing process of the cards.
"The layout is not of a conventional office with rectangular tables in rectangular rooms. The spaces come in different shapes and sizes, composed of curved walls. Furthermore, creating every table with an original organic form allows users to adjust the layout according to the meeting format or the number of participants."
The design process was quite complex and involved an abstract graphic pattern resembling one of the Pokémon Trading Cards being created to the correct dimensions and then engraved onto a 2.3-mm (0.09-in)-thick sheet of steel using a laser cutting machine. Nendo doesn't specify exactly how many of the steel cards were manufactured, though judging from the photos it looks like hundreds, perhaps even thousands, were used. Each one was painstakingly mounted at one of twelve different angles so as to help control the light and views into the multiple meeting rooms and office spaces.
Other Pokémon-related additions include some artwork, plus Nendo also made nine special Energy cards as secret items, for the eagle-eyed to find within the office – a fact that will probably only be appreciated by readers who know their Bulbasaur from their Charmander.
Nendo has plenty of form creating off-the-wall designs and the firm has previously produced a house that's mostly staircase and another that was constructed from culverts.
Source: Nendo