Where People Gather as Family
A Workspace Alive with the Soul of Its Makers

In Okawa, Fukuoka — long revered as Japan’s cradle of furniture craft — Elegant Wood has established itself as a maker of bespoke panels. For the company’s headquarters — a campus of six warehouse-like structures — we were tasked with reimagining the office interior and refashioning the exteriors, creating a cohesive stage for factory tours.
The exterior was designed to give visitors a powerful first impression, while also guiding them through the buildings in sequence. Building numbers were made prominent, and each entrance door finished uniformly in black — an economical gesture that nonetheless lends the ensemble a striking presence.
We grounded the interior design in the concept of an open-plan living-dining-kitchen (LDK) for work. The space unfolds across three staggered levels, gently defining zones while preserving a sense of continuity. Guests enter through a genkan-like threshold, leaving their shoes behind before stepping into a reception lounge that evokes the easy familiarity of a living room. Beyond, extending the welcoming, at-home atmosphere, a 7.2-metre-long solid-wood counter recalls the conviviality of a dining table. Further along, a counter crafted from Elegant Wood’s own panels doubles as both table and floor, forming an engawa-like arrangement that stretches toward the doma (traditional entrance). This gesture weaves a gentle connectedness throughout the entire space. Opposite the engawa, the kitchen anchors the heart of the interior, extending from the dining area as a shared hearth. Open to colleagues, visitors, and neighbours alike, it embodies the possibility of a workplace that links nourishment and endeavour in a home-like spirit.
Deeper within, an office finished in deep green tones and glass-enclosed meeting areas unfold, the whole composition held within a single line of sight. The result is a layout both open and transparent, reinforcing the sense of connection across the workplace. Blending Elegant Wood’s own products with contributions from local enterprises and trusted collaborators, the materials and lighting turn the interior itself into a living showroom — an environment that reveals the network of makers behind it.
At its foundation, the space reflects Elegant Wood’s ethos — not the pursuit of scale, but a belief in the value found in the human touch of craftsmanship. For clients and designers visiting from around the world, the spirit of Elegant Wood is made tangible, with the hope that the exchanges fostered here may seed new projects, continuing the spirit of gathering that defines Elegant Wood.