“Playing with the detail within.”
This project involved designing an employee cafeteria for a screw manufacturing company based in Habikino, Osaka. We utilized the unique environment of the screw factory and developed original materials like special screws made just for the cafeteria in a pursuit of detail. While the employees are very familiar with screws, which usually live a hidden life, our plan suggested using them differently, moving them to the surface to make them visible, and bringing new attention to their existence.
This project began with the idea of playing with details, and the design for the space began from a single screw.
We exposed lengthwise cross sections of screws and put them into terrazzo-style tabletops, left screws floating in blocks of acrylic for joints, door jambs, and tables, and also scattered washers over the floor to reflect light, making full use of the parts produced in the factory and revealing their interesting qualities to bring smiles in playful attention to detail.
In addition, because this project was a long-distance one, we made created parts for furniture near Tokyo, and then assembled them on site. Because of that, we needed to deal with the uneven nature of the existing building, and put screws on every surface, and let the edges meet plainly, allowing adjustments to be made at the site, and giving more flexibility to play with the details.
The project involved architects and designers working together, which made it a hybrid between different styles of play, and created the whole out of countless details.