The Tokyo headquarters of human resources company Pasona Group has used their office space to grow 200 different species of fruits, veg and rice. The crop is harvested by and fed to its employees.
Japan has always been a good candidate to invest in vertical farming. The country has a very small arable land footprint compared to other countries. Only 12% of its land can be used for agriculture compared to over 20% of the US.
Even the outside of the building is clad in plants to keep it cool in Toyoko’s hot summer and warm in winter
However, human resources company Pasona Group has taken vertical farming to the next level.
Its new Tokyo office space includes a 1,000-square-foot rice paddy, okra field, a ‘tomato guest room’ and ‘vegetable factory’ filled with hundreds of hydroponic lettuces. Fruit trees have been used to partition meeting rooms and bean sprouts prop up benches.
The amazing indoor urban farm isn’t only there to provide food. The concept is as much about creating a mixed work and farm space as companies try to provide a healthier quality of life to employees.
The farm was designed by New York-based Kono Designs which is built around the philosophy of ‘communicat[ing] concepts through function and materiality’. They believe that the farm is currently the biggest direct farm-to-table inside a Japanese office building.
