Bridgestone Innovation Park “B-Innovation” | Nikken Sekkei

A New Global Hub for Accelerating Innovation

Utilizing a former factory site in Kodaira City, Tokyo, this project aims to consolidate scattered functions in and outside the site and rebuild it as a global hub for creating new values. To achieve this goal, the “B-Innovation” research building for collaboration and co-creation with various stakeholders was built alongside the “B-Mobility” test course for demonstrations and experiments, to generate a rapid cycle of research and development.

Research Facilities Connected by Rich Mobility Spaces

Bridgestone has contributed to the evolution of mobility by developing and manufacturing tires for various modes of transportation. In contrast to the globalization of companies and the diversification and enlargement of products, this project returns to the creation of a “human-scale mobility space” for the researchers working there.
Mobility in general works to link remote locations safely and efficiently, reducing distance, space, and time. Similarly, this project is characterized by loosely dispersed spaces and varied pathways, condensing distance and places, akin to the urban environment.
Instead of vertically stacking functions, the building was designed as a three-story structure with a large floor plan of 150m x 70m, considering the balance with future land use. On each floor, functions are arranged in a linear manner to match the development process, while the vertical arrangement follows the cycle of empathy, discussion, co-research, and co-creation. This is meant to create a multi-dimensional connectivity that surpasses functional units.
The central atrium and X-shaped interlocking stairs are key features that represent “mobility” in this research facility and are designed to induce spontaneous encounters. By clearing diagonal sight lines, various functional spaces are visually connected.
We expect that by maximizing information obtained while moving, the conventional concept of “easiest route = shortest route” will be reconsidered and generate new values for movement created by a mobility solutions company.

A Platform for Accelerating Innovation, Open to the Community and Existing Facilities

The closed experimental areas are consolidated on the first and second floors, while open functions such as the offices, courtyard, and cafe are placed on the second and third floors. Open functions are also designed to face outward as much as possible with sufficient width provided along the frontal road, Fuchu Kaido, and a bridge connecting to existing facilities.
Horizontal multi-layered eaves were adopted, and the roof was downsized, for shading from the southwest sun to reduce the heat load, as well as for natural lighting. These horizontal eaves also serve functional purposes such as maintenance balconies, terraces overlooking the test course, and evacuation routes, and are designed to express the “momentum and potential of corporate innovation.”

Coexisting Activities and the Expanding Workplace

Amid significant societal changes, it is becoming crucial for companies adopting remote work to provide attractive shared spaces that surpass the “home,” instead of conventional large, uniform workplaces which lack the flexibility to accommodate diverse work styles.
As a solution, we proposed an “innovation court” with various coexisting activities and a large, mirrored ceiling. The innovation court incorporates a range of functions, such as dining, meetings, guest reception, and solo work, all within a single connected space, providing a versatile environment that caters to workers’ varying needs. The mirrored ceiling softly reflects each activity, abstractly expanding their presence into a bigger space.
Activities that once coexisted in isolated clusters could now be perceived in three dimensions, creating perceptual connectivity across spaces. The courtyard becomes a platform for spontaneous encounters, changing shape with each moment and activity. It is a kind of plaza within the building, based on the idea of “a human-scale mobility space.”

Project name: Bridgestone Innovation Park “B-Innovation”
Usage: Research facility
Location (prefecture, city): Kodaira City, Tokyo
Site area: 326,335.05 m2
Total floor area: 35,675.16 m2
Number of floors: 3 floors above ground
Eave height, highest point: 24.00m, 24.60m
Main structure: Steel structure (seismic isolation structure)
Completion date: December 2021

Credits:
Owner: Bridgestone Corporation
Lead architect: Nikken Sekkei Ltd
Main scope: Nikken Sekkei Ltd (Concept design, Schematic design, Design development, Site supervision)
Construction company: Obayashi Corporation

Photo credit: Harunori Noda [Gankosha］