UACJ Head Office Relocation Project

At UACJ's newly relocated headquarters in Tokyo, aluminum is used to express the company's identity without relying on traditional corporate displays. KOKUYO works closely with UACJ to weave together fabrication, recycling, and workplace culture into a unified architectural story. The project revolves around the theme “Connect RING — Connecting and Being Connected.” Visitors experience this concept through a series of actions rather than a simple graphic. Upon arrival, they receive a canned drink, discover UACJ’s products, participate in meetings, and return the empty can for recycling before they leave. This familiar action serves as an introduction to the material cycle that is central to UACJ's business.

Aluminum shapes the character of the entrance space. Reception elements, benches, perforated surfaces, and integrated details were collaboratively crafted with UACJ artisans, showcasing the precision of bending, joining, and finishing. The headquarters highlights industrial knowledge through craftsmanship instead of typical product displays.

The collaboration between designer and manufacturer is essential to this project. KOKUYO integrates UACJ’s technical expertise into the design process, allowing the company’s material to contribute to furniture, architectural elements, and lighting. The entrance embodies the confidence that comes from a deep understanding of aluminum, from its production to its application. Beyond the visitor area, the principle shifts from material to movement. A continuous pathway connects work areas, meeting rooms, and informal spots, making it easy for employees to navigate the space and encouraging interactions among different teams throughout the day.

About 150 meters of linear lighting runs along this pathway, helping people understand the layout without adding extra walls or signs. Curved benches, circular tables, and casual meeting spots appear at various intervals, giving the design a human scale where people can pause, talk, and work. Open work areas are designed to be practical and flexible, with desks complemented by quieter zones along the brighter perimeter. Shared tables, plants, and informal seating provide places for quick chats, short tasks, or meetings without the need for a reserved room. This layout accommodates various activities without isolating them into separate environments.

The connection between the visitor experience and the workspaces comes from a consistent theme of interaction. At the entrance, this is expressed through aluminum, manufacturing, and recycling. Inside the office, it shows through movement, visibility, and the shared use of space.

UACJ’s headquarters embodies a clear corporate identity. KOKUYO builds on the company’s material expertise, manufacturing culture, and everyday workplace relationships to create an environment where “Connect RING” is experienced rather than just stated.

The UACJ headquarters is a prime example of material storytelling. KOKUYO has transformed aluminum from just an industrial commodity into an architectural language that defines the essence of the office. The ring, which is more than just a geometric design, serves as the main social infrastructure, guiding movement and encouraging spontaneous collaboration. By incorporating this form throughout the entire space, the design creates a rhythm that feels both natural and intentional. The visitor journey is particularly smooth, embedding corporate values into everyday practices like reception and recycling. This headquarters stands out as a rare instance where architecture becomes an extension of the brand, making the company's expertise evident in every surface and corridor.

Great ideas often emerge during moments of organizational alignment. UACJ excels by focusing on the practical aspects of aluminum and designing a circular office layout. KOKUYO showcases its expertise by transforming technical manufacturing into a social experience. The true accomplishment lies in how elements like light, benches, and pathways foster human connections throughout the workday. This approach sets a new standard for headquarters by illustrating that a corporate narrative is enriched when integrated into daily operations.

**Image 01 — Circular Entrance and Reception** A luminous ring-shaped reception area occupies the center of a brightly aluminum-lined room. Curved seating, integrated planting, and a suspended circular light fixture establish the primary spatial identity of the headquarters upon arrival.

**Image 02 — Darkened Visitor Presentation Zone** Continuous curved benches surround a central circular platform within a darker setting. Screens and focused lighting support corporate storytelling while maintaining the ring as the room's organizing geometry.

**Image 03 — Window-Side Aluminum Bench** A long curved bench follows the glazed perimeter below a slim aluminum rail. This close view highlights the precision and lightness of the fabricated components against the backdrop of the evening cityscape.

**Image 04 — Curved Counter and Planted Edge** A pale aluminum counter bends around a planted opening next to full-height windows. The continuous surface illustrates how the ring motif is adapted into functional furniture rather than merely repeated as decoration.

**Image 05 — UACJ Identity within Perforated Aluminum Panels** The company logo is mounted against a pale central panel framed by perforated metal surfaces that feature a faint world map. This wall composition effectively combines material, graphic identity, and global reach in a restrained manner.

**Image 06 — Open Office and Illuminated Circulation Loop** Rows of workstations sit beside a broad curved path marked by a continuous line of light. This design provides clear orientation in the large office while allowing departments to remain visually connected.

**Image 07 — Perimeter Communication Lounge** A mix of tables, benches, and plantings forms an informal setting beside extensive windows. The softer furniture and natural light offer an alternative to assigned desks without separating the lounge from the workplace.

**Image 08 — Circular Collaboration Table** A large round table and loose chairs occupy an open area bordered by planting and the curved circulation path. This arrangement transforms the ring into a practical setting for group discussions and collaborative work.

The entrance schematic illustrates a circular room accessed from the upper side, directing visitors toward a broad view at the far edge. The central ring is bordered by counters, digital displays, and enclosed rooms, allowing visitors to navigate around the perimeter without constantly crossing the center. The planned sequence starts with drink pickup and an introduction to UACJ, then progresses through aluminum-related content, product viewing, and interaction, before moving toward meetings and recycling. Each stage is positioned along the circular path, creating a spatially continuous and easy-to-follow narrative. Photographs of the broader office indicate that the ring-shaped circulation extends beyond the entrance, forming a wide loop through open work areas. Curved carpet boundaries and approximately 150 meters of linear lighting clearly distinguish the route from workstation areas, making it visible from great distances. Communication settings are strategically placed beside or within the loop. Circular tables, rounded benches, and open lounges serve as points where movement can transform into conversation. Meanwhile, workstations are arranged in efficient rectilinear groups, providing a productive contrast between stable desk neighbourhoods and the fluid shared pathway. No complete office floor plan was included in the project folder. The interpretation of the workplace's spatial arrangement is based on eight photographs, the entrance schematic, and the designer’s written description.

UACJ This project involves the office relocation of a world-leading integrated aluminum manufacturer that supplies aluminum products across a wide range of industries, including automobiles, aircraft, beverage cans, building materials, and electronic devices, supported by the material’s multifunctionality as well as advanced research, development, and production technologies.

Under the concept “Connect RING — Connecting and Being Connected,” the design aims to foster opportunities for internal and external co-creation that support future business growth, while spatially expressing the worldview made possible by aluminum—its versatility, lightness, and capacity to connect industries, technologies, and people.

The design is distinguished by the following two key elements, which represent its most defining and differentiating features.

An Aluminum Entrance Realized Through the Co-Creation of Craftsmanship

In this project, the UACJ Group, responsible for aluminum material processing, actively joined the design process. All major elements of the entrance—including benches, counters, walls, lighting fixtures, and doors—were fabricated entirely from aluminum produced by the UACJ Group.

In conventional interior design, structural requirements often necessitate the use of steel or wood. In contrast, this project leverages the UACJ Group’s advanced technical expertise and manufacturing capabilities to employ aluminum not only as a surface finish, but also as a structural material, demonstrating the full potential of aluminum in architectural applications.

Furthermore, as UACJ offers beverages in aluminum cans to its guests, the entrance experience was conceived as a continuous spatial narrative—from drink pickup and corporate storytelling through digital signage to arrival and departure. This carefully choreographed circulation plan deepens engagement with visitors and allows both the company and its guests to collaboratively complete the concept of “Connect RING.”

A Dynamic Ring-Shaped Office Space that Transcends Business and Departmental Boundaries

Elements expressing the concept “Connect RING — Connecting and Being Connected” were incorporated throughout the office areas, where spatial quality directly influences employee motivation and comfort.

The entire office is organized around a ring-shaped circulation, which not only responds to the building’s unique geometry but also adopts a seamless, cornerless form as a metaphor for a future of collaboration beyond boundaries. As employees naturally pass through this loop in their daily routines, it creates opportunities for mutual recognition and fosters a shared sense of belonging among those who gather at this single workplace.

Beyond circulation, the ring motif is consistently embedded across the space—from approximately 150 meters of linear lighting to communication areas, tables, meeting room glass partitions, and seating—clearly and practically expressing both the project concept and the aspirations of the company’s leadership.

This space could only be realized through this project alone: a unique environment that unifies the craftsmanship of UACJ and its vision for the future, seamlessly traversing scales from the intimate to the architectural, and transcending business and organizational boundaries to form a singular, cohesive whole.

Prepared for Merci Magazine × Sky Design Awards 2026