Tokyo, Japan

Orient Corporation (commonly known as Orico), the leading consumer credit company in Japan, appointed Nobuaki Miyashita and the creative team of MR Studio to renovate and adapt their own training center to modern values and programs, which has deteriorated after its construction more than 30 years ago.

At first, the training center was designed for another company then acquired by Orico immediately after the completion of construction. Therefore the building did not exactly fit in carrying out their training programs. Among others, the accommodation was designated as the most important area for improvement, with a requirement to create single rooms in order to secure the privacy of each user. The architects considered approaching from two different aspects informing the renewal plan.

The first is the reform on the functional side. They proceeded with a design based on the intention of making versatile and diversified spaces that could invigorate interactive communications, such as group discussions, in addition to making space for giving traditional one-way lectures.

By introducing the latest information technology systems, the building will not only enable Orico to set up a more flexible training program but also allow usage as a satellite office and a touchdown office.

The second is the reform on the design side. In order to make the CI (corporate identity )of Orico’s felt throughout the space, the design is based on a ‘VI (visual identity)’ using ‘Orico Orange’ and ‘Credit Card’ as a motif. The most symbolic area in this renewal project is accommodation.

The architects installed a capsule bed unit in each room to create eight newboothsate booths. Every booth is furnished not only as a sleeping pod but also as an office pod. These rooms are contained within numerous layered partition walls, which resemble the shape of a credit card.

All eight of the guest rooms are respectively designed based on the theme of credit card types which Orico issues, such as “Gold Card”, “Platinum Card” and “Black Card” to embody the view of their various credit cards.

In order to fully reflect the personality of Orico’s brand, all the design elements were controlled from color schemes, furniture, and signature planning. And by doing so, the architects intended to drive trainees’ sense of belonging to the company while boosting ES (employee satisfaction) levels.

Project: Orico Training Center
Architects: Nobuaki Miyashita and MR Studio
Client: Orient Corporation
Contractor: Y.M.maintenance co.,Ltd
Photographers: Nobuaki Miyashita