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ITOKI CORPORATION (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koji Minato) has completely renovated the chair factory office within its Shiga Factory in Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, and reopened it as "ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SHIGA."
This facility is a co-creation-style manufacturing base that combines data utilization and design to improve the quality and speed of development, improve engagement, and strengthen recruitment capabilities. By incorporating a system that uses data to capture how people and spaces are used and making repeated improvements, the facility has built a factory office model that continuously enhances development capabilities and human resource value. The facility also accepts corporate tours of the factory and office, contributing to updating the working environment in the manufacturing industry.

In recent years, corporate office investment has come to be seen as an important management measure aimed at improving engagement and strengthening recruitment capabilities. Meanwhile, in the manufacturing industry, while headquarters are undergoing renovation, there are many cases where factory office space has not been sufficiently improved. However, as issues such as labor shortages and employee turnover become more serious, investment in “Work Environment” in factories is beginning to attract attention as an important theme that is directly linked to securing and retaining personnel and improving engagement.

At Itoki's mother factory, the Shiga Factory, an environment where everyone can demonstrate their abilities and continue working for the long term has become an important theme amid an increasing diversity of the workforce, including foreign workers, people with disabilities, and women. In response to these challenges, the factory has implemented gradual improvements to the work environment, such as renovating the break room. As a result, the number of job openings for skilled workers is expected to increase approximately fourfold between 2023 and 2025, and the turnover rate has been halved, demonstrating concrete results in securing and retaining talent. These efforts have attracted attention from outside the company, and the number of factory tours from other companies has also been increasing in recent years.

Against this backdrop, the host factory has further updated its chair factory office, which brings together development and design functions, and reopened it as "ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SHIGA." As a new co-creation-type manufacturing base, the aim is to further improve development capabilities and the value of human resources.

This facility inherits the concept of "ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE" - "an office where next-generation work styles can be conceived, put into practice, and experienced," while being reconstructed from the perspective unique to a manufacturing site. By organically linking functions such as a showroom, gallery, and laboratory with the manufacturing site, it is positioned as a new model of factory office that simultaneously strengthens development capabilities, fosters human resource growth, and improves brand value.

The concept of ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SHIGA is an "open manufacturing base" where Itoki and external partners come together and create together. By combining the development and manufacturing knowledge that Itoki has cultivated with the expertise and ideas of external partners, we aim to create a place where new value continues to be created.

Until now, the Shiga Factory has played the role of a "place to make products," but through this renovation, it will evolve into a manufacturing base where people and information flow, learning and verification circulate, and co-creation occurs naturally. By accumulating knowledge beyond fields and positions and creating an inviting, open environment, we will strengthen our development capabilities, grow our human resources, and achieve "attractive manufacturing" that conveys Itoki’s value and attitude.

Through this process itself, the base aims to foster trust and empathy both inside and outside the company, and to become a co-creation platform that will enable Itoki and its partners to carve out the future together.

The greatest feature of the spatial design in this renovation is that it combines data utilization and design to update the factory into an ever-evolving manufacturing base. By visualizing people's movements and how the space is used with data, we are able to continuously implement an improvement cycle based on facts rather than intuition, while at the same time creating an environment that attracts talent through design and draws out their creativity.

The spatial structure employs "floor stacking," which stacks different functions such as manufacturing, development, co-creation, office work, and dining on top of each other. The flow of people moving between the upper and lower floors allows people, information, and ideas to naturally intermingle, creating a structure that fosters relationships and co-creation that transcends departments and positions on a daily basis.

The spatial design incorporates grids and scales into the floors, walls, and display fixtures, creating mechanisms that allow visitors to subconsciously become aware of the scale of the products and space in their everyday lives.By sharing the sense of size and awareness of precision unique to the manufacturing site throughout the space, we have created an environment in which exhibition, dialogue, and inspection naturally connect.

Taking advantage of the factory's proximity to the production line and offices, different work styles and activities overlap within the same building, which not only improves the speed and quality of development but also strengthens development capabilities, fosters human resource growth, and improves engagement.

At ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SHIGA, rather than simply arranging the space once and then being done with it, we have introduced "Data Trekking" as a system for capturing how it is used with data and making repeated improvements. We combine and analyze location data that visualizes people's movements and space usage, survey data that grasps workability and engagement, and space data that manages layout and use. By combining our existing knowledge with data, we have achieved an improvement cycle based on more solid evidence.

This allows us to continually identify issues, make small layout changes, and improve operations, while also considering future large-scale renovations, and create a factory that continues to enhance development capabilities and the value of its human resources.

The first floor is a space for welcoming external partners and visitors, and is a place for "opening up and communicating" Itoki's manufacturing. Taking advantage of its location close to the manufacturing line, visitors can experience the quality, safety, and technical background of the chairs through technical exhibits and testing rooms. More than just a place to observe, the space will also be a starting point for external co-creation, leading to the creation of new value through dialogue via the exhibits.

The second floor is an internal co-creation floor where design and development members, as well as members from other bases and departments, gather to discuss and verify. The development lab, ergonomics lab, and studio have been consolidated to create an environment where a continuous process can be carried out, from idea consideration to prototyping and evaluation. In the ergonomics lab, verification is carried out based on body data using motion capture and a seat tracer. In the studio, mixed reality (MR) is used to connect the planning department in Tokyo with the design and production department in Shiga. Co-creation-style development that transcends bases and departments has become a daily occurrence, improving the quality and speed of development.

The third floor is where daily work takes place. Given the nature of the office, which involves a mix of tasks that require speedy verification and decision-making in teams, we have adopted group desking system for work areas that maintain a certain degree of cohesion. We have also provided areas where people can gather around chairs for discussions and areas where they can immerse themselves in deeper thought. The spatial design incorporates local materials such as reeds and granite from Lake Biwa, creating an environment where people can calmly weave their thoughts together and repeatedly verify and improve.

The fourth floor is a multi-purpose floor that is primarily used for meals and breaks, but can also accommodate interactions and events. The diverse seating configurations allow for flexible use, not just for meals, but also for casual meetings, one-on-one meetings, and relaxation. It can also be used for internal events and workshops, functioning as a place to foster communication that transcends departments and positions.

▼ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SHIGA website
https://www.itoki.jp/showroom/shiga/

ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE is an office where next-generation work styles can be conceived, put into practice, and experienced. It combines the functions of a showroom, gallery, and laboratory, fusing technology such as ergonomics and data utilization with spatial and product design that appeals to people's sensibilities. We continue to create, test, and refine next-generation work styles.

From 2025 onwards, major locations across the country will be rebranded as "ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE" one after another.
Starting with the newly opened "ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE SENDAI," we will be bringing together working people, designers, and business partners from Japan and abroad, rooted in the industries and communities of each city, and spreading a new WORK-Style culture.

▼ ITOKI DESIGN HOUSE website
https://idh.itoki.jp/