This multifunctional, transformable office space occupies a unit in a commercial building in Kyoto, Japan. Designed by Naoshi Kondo Studio, the L-shaped interior has been carefully crafted to cover three completely different uses, a photography studio, a workspace, and a conference room.
The transformable office: watch the film
The device: a moving reception room
Tying all this together is the project’s central device, a moving reception room that also doubles up as the conference area. Lined with a rich dark blue carpet, light blue walls and arched doorways, the ‘room’ is a lightweight frame that can be shifted along two axes. Statement pieces of furniture give the room a strong geometric feel.
The main entrance wall to the unit is glazed, and with the reception space in its ‘parked’ position, this reveals and displays the colourful space to the world as a kind of vitrine, advertising the client’s business. Step inside, and the doorways lead through to the rest of the space.
In reception mode, the area around the corner can be set up as an extension of the office, with storage shelving, and a modular conference table. ‘This mechanism introduces a high degree of flexibility in space utilisation and movement, ensuring optimal convenience for the users,’ the architect says, explaining how the main workspace is a typical photography studio, requiring constantly changing set-ups and teardowns.
‘Having a moving reception room naturally encourages periodic tidying,’ Kondo continues, ‘which caters to those who thrive in a dynamic work setting.’ Slide the reception space all the way to the right and it opens up a ‘white box’ space behind the glass frontage.
The reception can then be slid back on itself around the corner (after tidying away all the paraphernalia of the office), maximising the length of the work environment. Elements like wall mirrors are cleverly split across the different stages to give a sense of a jigsaw slotting into place.
Transformable space is a perennial fascination amongst architects of a certain age. The Honsha Office works because its dynamic component is practical, not fanciful, expanding the potential of an awkward space while preserving space, privacy and presentation.
-
African brutalism explored: from bold experimentation to uncertain futureDiscover the complex and manifold legacies of brutalist architecture in Africa with writer and curator Fabiola Büchele
-
What to see at Frieze Seoul 2025Don't miss this mix of contemporary and established artists at Frieze Seoul, 3-6 September; here’s our guide to the fair and what's on around the city
-
Four under-the-radar travel destinations to book in 2026 – before everyone else doesYou'd be forgiven if none of these locations are on your travel bingo card – yet
-
Campaigners propose reuse to save Kenzo Tange’s modernist ‘Ship Gymnasium’ in JapanThe Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s former Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium is at risk of demolition; we caught up with the campaigners who hope to save it
-
A new photo book explores the symbolic beauty of the Japanese garden‘Modern Japanese Gardens’ from Thames & Hudson traces the 20th-century evolution of these serene spaces, where every element has a purpose
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlightDiscover the little-known modernist architect through this private home in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture countryside
-
A Karuizawa house is a soothing, work-from-home retreat in JapanTakeshi Hirobe Architects play with scale and space, creating a tranquil residence in which to live and work
-
Naoshima New Museum of Art is a home for Asian art, and a lasting legacy, in Seto Inland SeaThe Naoshima New Museum of Art opens, marking a seminal addition to the Japanese island's renowned Benesse Art Site Naoshima; we explore Tadao Ando's design
-
Behind a contemporary veil, this Kyoto house has tradition at its coreDesigned by Apollo Architects & Associates, a Kyoto house in Uji City is split into a series of courtyards, adding a sense of wellbeing to its residential environment
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on harmony, nature and their RIBA gongThe SANAA duo are celebrating their RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 in London today, and talked to us about self-reflection, the year ahead, and the need to create harmony in our environment
