DIALOG by Commercial Interior Design

 

Capcom의 새로운 사무실 디자인은 성숙한 게임산업에 대한 의도적인 디자인이며, Capcom의 목표 및 근무자들의 경험은 Capcom의 일본에 둔 뿌리의 맥락에서 따라온 것이다.

비디오 게임 회사의 사무실은 일반적으로 매우 정신없고 산만한 모습을 보인다. DIALOG와 Capcom은 이러한 사례를 벗어나 이전부터 제시된 필요사항을 해결하는데 중점을 두었다. Capcom은 방문객과 직원이 회사의 뿌리에서 영감을 얻고, 미래를 상징하는 디자인을 활용하여 과거를 성찰하고 앞으로 나아갈 수 있는 세련된 공간을 원했다. 놀랍게도 클라이언트와의 협상을 통해 등장한 것은 그들 자신의 예전 모습에서 벗어나기 위해 결정된 비정형적인 디자인 방향이었다.

이 과정에서 구체화된 것은 매우 실제적인 경험이다. DIALOG는 목재, 연못, 종이접기, 미닫이 문 및 다다미와 같은 일본식 디자인의 전통적인 요소에서 영감을 얻었다. 그들은 이러한 요소를 추출하고 공간 전체에 걸쳐 재해석했다. 처음 이 건물로 들어오는 곳에 있는 리셉션 데스크는 종이 접기를 연상시키는 날카로운 각도를 보인다. 방문객은 이러한 요소를 자연스럽게 느낄 수 있다. 이 아이디어를 더 연상시키는 것은 공간 곳곳에 보이며, 가구와 모난 회의실을 통해 표현된다.

Capcpm에는 협업할 일이 굉장히 많기 때문에 회의실, 공동작업환경을 조성하기 위해 많은 양의 공간이 활용되었다. 공간 전체에서 확인할 수 있는 맞춤 목재 천장에 대한 아이디어를 준 것은 다다미였다. 나무의 각 부분은 다다미의 모양을 모방하기 위해 회전하는 모양새를 보인다. 나무 천장 아래 있으면 부드러운 조약돌 모양의 가구와 함께 이동 가능한 흰 보드 벽을 발견할 수 있다. 이것들은 각 층의 모래밭에서 발견되는 자갈을 실물 크기로 해석하여 나타낸 것이다. 이 정원은 중앙 회의실과 유사하게 만들어졌으며 적극적인 개인의 사색을 위한 기회 공간이다.

 

In May 2017, DIALOG’s Vancouver interior design team turned video game office design on its head with Capcom’s new location for its Canadian Headquarters. Capcom wanted to relocate to a more urban,

 

transit-oriented building that would ease employees’ commutes. DIALOG and Capcom selected a 52,000 sq. ft. of raw shell space in a new mixed-use development quietly nestled in a peaceful business park along Greater Vancouver’s Sky train line in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Capcom’s new office design is a deliberate response to the maturing gaming industry, Capcom’s goals within said industry, and the end-user experience?all folded neatly within the context of Capcom’s Japanese roots.

Capcom is the developer and publisher of popular video game series such as Dead Rising, Street Fighter and Mega Man. A world-renowned video game company, Capcom has been an industry leader for over 30 years. While the company was founded and is headquartered out of Japan, its new Canadian Headquarters location pays homage to their deep-seated Japanese roots and sends a message that Capcom is reinvesting in its Canadian presence. Capcom is committed to Vancouver and attracting top talent in the area.

“We designed a new office space to show who we are and how we’re pushing forward video game development in North America, but never

 

forgetting Capcom’s origins and its lasting position as one of the biggest video game names in the industry.”

“We’ve been in Vancouver for over ten years now and we’re investing in ourselves and in Vancouver…. if you want to come work for us, give us a call.”

 

Bryce Cochrane, Creative Director, Capcom

“We are in a very fast-paced industry, and anything we can do to keep the place calmer and more focused can help our teams get our work done.”

Video game company office designs are typically loud and busy. DIALOG and Capcom steered away from these precedents and focused on addressing the specific needs laid out before them. Capcom wanted a refined space that offered moments of reflection, where visitors and employees could be inspired by the company’s roots, harnessed in a design that represented its future. Surprisingly, what emerged through

 

an exercise with the client?where they worked together to determine that Capcom wanted to separate themselves from the pack?was an atypical design direction.

What’s materialized is a hyper-real Zen experience. DIALOG drew inspiration from traditional elements of Japanese design like wood, reflection ponds, origami, shoji screens and tatami mats. They extrapolated elements of these inspirations and reinterpreted them throughout the space.

Walking into the welcome area, the reception desk takes on the sharp angles of folded pieces of paper?immediately visitors are welcomed with a nod to the meditative practice of origami. Further expressing this idea are the many-faceted origami forms that fold their way through the space. This idea is expressed through furniture pieces and the angular encased meeting rooms.

“We are a Japanese company at the core and we believe that reflecting the values of our parent office is very important for us here in Canada.”

 

There is no shortage of collaboration at Capcom, so generous amounts of open space were allocated to create breakout rooms/impromptu collaborative working environments. The impetus for the custom wood-slat ceilings seen throughout the space was a tatami mat. These ceilings clearly define where the collaborative nodes are throughout the space. Each stick of wood is rotated to mimic the shapes of a traditional tatami mat. If you find yourself under a wood ceiling, you’ll find mobile whiteboard walls accompanied by soft pebble-like furniture. These are life-size interpretations of the pebbles found in the sand gardens on each floor. These gardens delineate central meeting rooms, and are an opportunity for active meditation and reflection.

“(In our old space) we had meeting spaces, but there weren’t spaces for our employees to just be and have ideas, or play a game without disturbing other employees. We were able to divide up this new space in such a way that allows everybody to do what they want and what they need to do throughout the day.”