Jamel Williams
Lobby with dozens of suspended white tubes above a round white basin, with a person entering.
Interiors & ExperiencePhotographThe host lobby reveal: suspended forms over a white pool.Photography: Kohei Take

Partner experience center

Read the context

Google Tokyo Partner Plex

From the city to a shared experience.

In brief

Above Shibuya, the Partner Plex stages a transition from the energy of the city to a setting for hosting, exchange and reflection. Water provides a shared direction for arrival, interiors and environmental graphics.

Role
Senior Designer, Rapt Studio
Disciplines
Interiors, Environmental graphics, Hospitality
Status
Completed
  • Culture & Strategy
  • Interiors & Experience
  • Brand & Expression

The direction in practice

Hospitality begins at arrival

Timber doors and a sculptural corridor establish the arrival sequence before the host lobby opens around suspended forms and a pool. Changes in enclosure, material and light carry the transition through the floor.

The water concept gives different settings a common language: Clouds for boardrooms, a Ripple for the auditorium and Deltas for lounges. Environmental graphics and room naming connect that idea with navigation.

Decisive choices

The decisions that shaped the outcome

1Stage the change of state

Question
What does a partner center above Shibuya crossing need to do first?
Choice
Design the arrival as a sequence from noise to calm: pre-arrival, timber doors, sculptural corridor, host reveal.
Reason
The arrival sequence prepares guests for a different pace of interaction before the hosted program begins.
Tradeoff
Arrival takes floor area that could have been another meeting room.
A hand in a yellow sleeve pulling a tall wooden door with a leather-wrapped handle.
PhotographTimber doors with leather-wrapped handles at the entry.Photography: Kohei Take
Lobby with dozens of suspended white tubes above a round white basin, with a person entering.
PhotographThe host lobby reveal: suspended forms over a white pool.Photography: Kohei Take

2Name rooms as water

Question
How does one concept hold a whole floor of different rooms?
Choice
Boardrooms as Clouds, the auditorium as a Ripple, lounges as Deltas, restrooms as sanctuaries, with room names carried in relief wayfinding.
Reason
A single metaphor lets every room be different and still belong.
Tradeoff
A shared concept needs restraint so that each room remains useful and distinct.
White wall with raised lettering and icons listing room names in English and Japanese.
PhotographRoom names in relief: Aurora, Midnight, High Noon, Lakeshore.Photography: Kohei Take
View through a circular window into a meeting room with a long table and a textured white sculpture above.
PhotographA boardroom seen through a round opening, with a cloud-like sculpture above the table.Photography: Kohei Take

Gallery

The work

People crossing a busy Tokyo street with bright signage.
Culture & StrategyPhotographShibuya crossing, the arrival context.Photography: Kohei Take
Close view of a shallow round basin with concentric ripples under hanging white tubes.
Brand & ExpressionPhotographRipples in the lobby pool beneath the suspended installation.Photography: Kohei Take
Curving corridor with rippled white walls, a blue carpet, and a timber wall at the end.
Interiors & ExperiencePhotographA compression corridor with curved white walls and a blue floor.Photography: Kohei Take
A person standing in a room lit in pink and blue gradients.
Brand & ExpressionPhotographAn immersive room where light and color are the medium.Photography: Kohei Take

Contribution and status

What was delivered

My contribution

Senior Designer, Rapt Studio. Developed the experience concept and its expression in interiors and graphics with the Rapt team, from early development through delivery.

Result and status

Completed partner experience center, documented in photography.

Project information

At a glance

Client
Google
Location
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Years
2019 to 2020
Status
Completed
Role
Senior Designer, Rapt Studio
Scope
Experience concept, interiors and environmental graphics for a center where Google's APAC teams host business partners.
Practice
Rapt Studio
Team
Rapt Studio team
Collaborators
Google APAC stakeholders
Lenses
  • Culture & Strategy
  • Interiors & Experience
  • Brand & Expression

Credits

Originating practice
Rapt Studio
Personal involvement
Developed the experience concept and its expression in interiors and graphics with the Rapt team, from early development through delivery.
Team
  • Rapt Studio team
Collaborators
  • Google APAC stakeholders
Photography and imagery
Photography: Kohei Take.