We’re in the “Beauty Valley” of L’Oréal in Japan, precisely in the Shinjuku-ku district of Tokyo. Here the group has created a headquarters for 2700 employees, a research & innovation center and a production plant, taking its cue from the vision “Empowering All to Live Beautifully – From the World to Japan. From Japan to the World.”
The offices of Nihon L’Oréal (the Japanese branch of L’Oréal) have gone through a recent restyling that has involved Maruni for the interior design. A choice that goes beyond aesthetic factors. The furniture maker founded in Japan in the 1920s by Takeo Yamanaka is aligned with the style and values that have gone into the design of the facility – affinities with the Japanese tradition, with a focus on nature and sustainability – in a concrete interpretation of the concept of “EN”: a Japanese term that means “relation” or “connection.”
Inside, the sensorial experience is taken to its maximum potential, with extreme attention paid to the relationship of light, sounds and materials. In this game of the senses and of balance, Maruni enters with its collections – a summary of ancient craftsmanship and industrialized processes.
Here the protagonist is the Hiroshima collection designed by Naoto Fukasawa, including chairs, lounge chairs and tables, created as “sculpture” in solid wood with simple, slender forms to bring out the beauty of the raw material. There are also items from the T&O and Lightwood series, both designed by Jasper Morrison: the first is a line of seating and stools in maple, while the second is a seating collection whose key of interpretation is lightness of form.
In this context, sustainability represents an added value: the “Beauty Valley” of L’Oréal has been envisioned to comply with LEED standards, the most demanding energy efficiency certification. A sustainable model that Maruni has always embraced, creating furnishings made with materials recycled from production processes.
