Design firm I IN refreshed the Cartier office in Tokyo, creating a center for collaboration while combining both French and Japanese elements in the contemporary workplace. With luxurious touches that call to mind the company’s exquisite jewelry, the interior celebrates the heritage brand.
“The original office was crowded and filled with desks. The merchandising team needed areas for socializing, but they didn’t want a typical, casual office. Our design was intended to reflect Cartier’s craftsmanship and to elevate the work experience,” said Yohei Terui, partner at I IN.
Featuring a series of lounge spaces, the office is decidedly more upscale than the average corporate environment. With a studio also based in Tokyo, Terui and I IN partner Hiromu Yuyama have designed retail stores, restaurants, and installations, and so they were easily able to capture the look of a Cartier boutique and update it for a corporate setting. “We wanted to include spaces for work and gathering, but also make sure the brand identity, the feeling, was here in the office,” Terui noted.
The entrance lounge sets the tone for the office, decorated in Cartier’s signature red and champagne gold colors. Moderately partitioned with louvers, this lounge provides a welcoming atmosphere within the office, with just the right level of separation from the surrounding work areas. Upholstered in Kvadrat fabric, the sofa is a place for visitors to relax or chat, bathed in a glow from the illuminated ceiling. “The color of the light is warmer, it is not like the harsh overhead light we often see today. It adds a softness,” Terui explained.
A custom piece on the wall near the entrance was created in collaboration with Hakuichi, a company that produces gold leaf. The company is headquartered in Kanazawa, where artisans have practiced the art of kinpaku — transforming the precious metal into thin sheets ― for centuries. The inherent elegance of gold is expressed in three dimensions on the crisp white surface, producing a sense of luxury and serving as a strong accent.
Iin many post-pandemic workplaces, lockers are now a necessity for employees with hybrid schedules. Staff members want a place to safely tuck away their belongings while at work. For Terui, the design of the locker room provided an opportunity to take an afterthought section and turn it into an unexpectedly sophisticated respite. In stark contrast to the oak wood that decorates the majority of the interior, the dark area helps users refresh and reset before and after the workday.
The library lounge has an extensive selection of design tomes and magazines that staff members can peruse for inspiration. A large table set in the middle of the main office accommodates up to eight people. Its planks showcase a delicate radial pattern of the wood grain, which looks like a delicately pleated fabric, while an integrated planter holds fresh greenery. The custom chandelier is composed of metallic fragments, echoing the strips fashioned by goldsmiths.
The gathering counter is a focal point, featuring an Italian marble top with swirls of brown and pink to complement the gold fixtures With a mix of table heights and tops to suit a range of functions, Terui said the large round tables were intentionally selected to facilitate conversation. “This shape, the circle, was a main theme. People come together, they connect around a circle. They are not separated by a long, rectangular table. This is where communication happens.”
There are plenty of places to enjoy the unparalleled views, with walls of windows and seating areas nearby, another way for employees to connect with nature even while they are indoors. The designers also acknowledged the office’s locale by incorporating a Japanese tatami room.
Tatami rooms have traditionally been used for entertaining, a place for tea ceremonies, or as a spot for a religious altar. Cartier’s version is called the sanctuary, which Terui described as an area where workers can come to exercise, meditate, or just sit quietly, sans shoes. The mats that line this corner are also a departure from the norm. “Usually, the tatami mats are green or beige, but we had these dyed red to continue the color scheme.”
Such attention to detail and seamless blending of cultures is all the more impressive given the time constraints. The project was completed in three months, without sacrificing quality. “It is a light and open space. We used the best materials we could find to bring in Cartier luxury,” Terui added.
