NEWS

Circuit Field: A new site for value creation

Komatsu's vision of innovation calls for not only creating technologies but also creating new value for solutions to society's challenges. This requires attentiveness to trends in society. Based on this understanding, this building reflects the concept of generating numerous points of contact with people from outside the organization.

To balance security needs with stimulation of communication, Shimizu's design for this facility proposed the Circuit Field, an area for cooperative work located inside an atrium spanning from the lower through higher floors in the center of the building. Circuit Field is a new space for creating value through rapid interaction and reaction like an electrical circuit. Out of security considerations, R&D facilities usually separate cooperative work areas by floor. By connecting the cooperative work area to upper floors, however, Circuit Field enables a flat communication structure among employees and their partners in cooperative work. This design aims to enable new innovation through active exchange of opinions among people from both inside and outside the organization, by sharing the same space.

The atrium space has openings to let in natural light and air, bringing a part of the natural environment right into the center of the building. To balance the building's functional and design elements, Shimizu used digital tools to simulate the atrium's interior environment.