Society is undergoing major changes due to the spread of COVID-19. One such change is the way offices and work styles are changing. Will offices really become unnecessary as more people go online? We asked Takeyuki Katsuya, director of NAD (NIKKEN ACTIVITY DESIGN lab), which designs the latest offices, about his vision for the future of office spaces and work styles through architecture and space.

NAD started in 2013 as a division of Nikken Sekkei, a long-established architectural design firm that has worked on many Japanese landmarks such as Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, and Narita Airport. Most of the members are architects and designers, but we also have researchers and engineers, and we are made up of all kinds of professionals, so we call it a ``boundary-crossing design group.''

``In an era of population decline, there is already a sufficient stock of buildings, and new architectural value is required in a mature economy.Therefore, our job is to simply design buildings that are in demand. These days, many clients come to Nikken Sekkei and NAD with questions about what kind of buildings they will need in the future. NAD is not just a building that fulfills functions, but a place that creates original value and experiences.However, in many cases, clients themselves cannot clearly define what they really need. Going beyond the boundaries and position of a traditional designer, NAD conducts research and analyzes together with clients to propose new value and experiences.At times, NAD also becomes involved in post-completion operations. We are a design group that crosses borders to create new spaces."

The way NAD's projects are carried out crosses borders in all aspects. We do not limit ourselves to the traditional field of architectural design, but also hold workshops with users, have researchers conduct surveys in offices, and go through the process of examining the issues faced by each company together. Together with the client, we design not only the hardware but also the software, such as building a vision and pilot projects. What's more, even after completion, we will continue to verify the effects of actual work styles and continue to evolve the space over time.

NAD is a cross-border group that creates architecture that designs experiences.

Katsuya, who serves as NAD's director, is one of the world's most active architects. Most recently, we won an international competition to renovate the 1-capacity soccer stadium Camp Nou in Barcelona, ​​Spain, and the Ariake Gymnastics Stadium, which will be the venue for a global sporting event to be held in Tokyo in 99,000. He is known for his work on ``Shibuya Scramble Square'' and its observation facility ``Shibuya Sky.''

``Ariake Gymnastics Stadium, which will be the venue for the world-famous sporting event to be held in Tokyo in 2021, is located on the site of a former lumberyard area, so it has one of the world's largest wooden arches, as well as a wooden We designed an outdoor concourse that looks like a pile of trees.The audience can think about the history of this area while looking out at the ocean under the huge wooden eaves. We received a request from a client who wanted to build an observation deck on the rooftop. However, there are already many observation decks in Tokyo, so we thought of a place that would be like a stage to relieve the crowds of Shibuya. ``Shibuya Sky'' purposefully created a huge empty deck space and turned it into an urban park that connects to the sky.It not only fulfills the required functions, but also connects with the land on which the building is built. I believe that the architecture of the future will be required to provide ephemeral experiences."

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Takeyuki Katsuya

Nikken Sekkei Design Department Director and NAD Office Director

After graduating from Kyoto University's Graduate School of Engineering, majoring in architecture, he joined Nikken Sekkei in 2000. In 2016, he won an international competition to renovate FC Barcelona's home stadium, Camp Nou. In 2019, he was in charge of the redevelopment of Shibuya Station, "Shibuya Scramble Square East Building (Phase I)," its observation facility "Shibuya Sky," and "Ariake Gymnastics Stadium." Since 2020, he has served as the director of the NAD office in addition to the director of the design department.