Roar has completed the new Middle Eastern headquarters of leading Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda, located in Dubai’s pioneering business district, One Central. The 23,000sqft space blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern data-driven efficiency to create a stunning contemporary office, anchored in its local environment.

The interior concept evokes key principles of the ancestral Japanese design philosophy highlighting a minimal, restrained architectural language with shoji screen geometry and textured materials such as wood, raw concrete and paper. The boardroom echoes the layout of a Japanese tea house while the reception area references the genkan, the traditional entrance of a Japanese home.

A series of artworks by designer Khalid Shafar adorn the space, made using khoos – a palm leaf weaving technique that was traditionally applied to build house roofs and floor mats.

Pallavi Dean, founder of Roar, explains: “Takeda wanted us to design an office that rivalled their new HQ in Tokyo, Japan. We felt it was important to draw inspiration from the company’s Japanese heritage while also celebrating the local context in order to give the project a sense of place and differentiate it from other Takeda’s offices around the world – this is most definitely Takeda in Dubai, not Tokyo!”

As an early advocate of well-being in the workplace, Dean has used biophilic principles throughout, including the use of greenery and natural materials alongside daylight enhancement, in a bid to bring the outdoors in.