Forget “cubical farms,” this workspace features hydroponic crops from over two hundred species, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and rice.
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
Working in an office building doesn’t typically call to mind lush greenery and blooming foliage. Sure, there are “cubical farms,” but those grow memos and reports, not actual agriculture. For most of us, reconciling the typically drab sterility of boardrooms and water coolers, with the natural vitality we picture when we think of “farming” is, unfortunately, an exercise in futility.
Not so at Pasona Inc., a Japan-based multinational firm that specializes in human resources and temp staffing. Employees based out of the company’s Tokyo headquarters not only share office space with their fellow co-workers, but also with thousands of square feet of fully functional urban gardens, as well. From the building’s foliage-covered exterior, to the vines dangling off overhead trellises once inside, Pasona’s carefully crafted work environment (emphasis on “environment”) is a far cry from what we might imagine an international corporate headquarters would look like.
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
Photographer Helene Veilleux recently explored Pasona’s unique melding of “office” and “organic,” explaining that the building, designed by architect Yoshimi Kono, isn’t just green for show, but is “an effective urban farming project ( and 100% organic ) which grows more than 200 species of fruits, vegetables and have is [sic] own 1,000-square-foot indoor rice paddy.”
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
image via hélène veilleux
As Mental Floss points out, Pasona’s urban office farm is not simply an eco-minded showcase of innovative architecture. Rather, it addresses Japan’s serious space limitations when it comes to growing its own agriculture—limitations which result in that country importing a majority of its food from overseas.
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
image via (cc) flickr user hélène veilleux
[via mental floss, bored panda]
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