japan's GLP ALFALINK hub unveils ring-shaped public building

glp alfalink: an open hub logistics campus inviting co-creation

GLP ALFALINK Sagamihara is one of Japan‘s largest advanced logistics campuses completed for asset management services company GLP. Architecture practice Takenaka Corporation and Japanese logo expert Kashiwa Sato joined forces to bring this 670,000 sqm park complex to life — developing four buildings with office spaces, training and R&D facilities, factory lines, and cold storage solutions to encourage supply chain efficiency. The facility also accommodates an in-house truck terminal shared by customers to facilitate the efficient shipment and collection of cargo, as well as a shared circular building dubbed RING. According to GLP, this campus evolves beyond traditional warehouse designs, offering a new generation of open-hub facilities where customers are invited to co-create and collaborate, ‘and employees and residents are able to co-exist harmoniously,’ adds the company’s president Yoshiyuki Chosa.

Program-wise, GLP ALFALINK Sagamihara provides customers with cutting-edge technology solutions such as automation, robotics and on-site mobile applications to improve employee and operational efficiency. The facility features its dedicated mobile application, which supports park entry applications, dining in restaurants, and reservations of shared park facilities. Beyond employees, the local community can also use the app and even access the built-in park, allowing the project to be a part of rich everyday life where people, goods, and information cross paths.

all images © Takumi Ota

from logo to built: takenaka corporation & kashiwa sato unite

Art director and graphic designer Kashiwa Sato joined the Takenaka Corporation team in the GLP ALFALINK project for a total branding of the complex — from concept development, naming, and logo, to designing a shared facility building called ‘RING’ and supervising the landscape design. Responding to the concept of an open hub and GLP’s tagline (‘a logistics platform that creates a chain of creation’), Sato proposed a logo where light green — evoking land — and light blue — recalling ocean and sky — intertwine to express a chain of creation that links all these natural layers. ‘Two lines represent the flow of new people, goods, information, and value generated from ALFALINK as a starting point and continue to spread without stopping even for a moment. A ten-meter-high logo artwork was installed at the facility’s entrance as an iconic symbol of the brand,’ comments the designer.

located near the Sagamihara Aikawa Interchange & Sagamihara Interchange on the Ken-O expressway

designing a circular, shared building & multi-purpose court

For ALFALINK, the facility itself is considered an essential medium for branding. Kashiwa Sato, therefore, pursued the idea of ‘visioning’ to design different parts of the facility — starting with the common-use RING building. This circular structure, with a diameter of 86 meters and a height of 10 meters, is an open structure boasting a glass facade and a motif of the logo design. RING connects each warehouse building with a sidewalk and deck, which are also designed using the logo’s curves as a motif. In addition to restaurants, the facility includes a daycare center, a convenience store, and conference rooms and is open to both ALFALINK employees and residents. Meanwhile, a central lawned garden square and vehicle traffic lines co-exist while ensuring safety, and the scenery expresses diversity, the core of the open hub concept, by simultaneously bringing together logistics and users’ activities. Various events and festivals are held around the RING regularly.

The adjacent multi-purpose court is also open to the public, offering a great space to host a wide range of activities — including youth soccer classes. In the event of a disaster, GLP ALFALINK will also become an evacuation site in cooperation with the local government. ‘A larger co-creation community is created by strengthening cooperation not only between companies but also with the community, and it has become a concept model for the relationship between logistics and society in the coming era,’ reflects Kashiwa Sato.

GLP ALFALINK logistics facilities — RING building top view

energy conservation, carbon reduction & urban greening

The facility implements a suite of energy conservation and carbon reduction initiatives; this includes onsite rooftop solar power, which generates approximately 10,000 KW annually to meet a proportion of the site’s energy needs, allowing all main areas to operate on 100% renewable energy. The company also focuses on water management by purifying and distilling well water to make it drinkable and reduce overall energy costs, providing an alternative supply in times of emergency.

In addition to its built area, GLP ALFALINK Sagamihara features 60,000 square meters of green space, approximately 20% of the site’s total area. All four buildings of GLP ALFALINK Sagamihara have received LEED Gold certification and/or ZEB certification. ‘As part of business continuity planning and mitigating the risk of supply chain disruptions, the facility houses fuel storage tanks and a private fuel station, allowing customers to purchase fuel at a lower price. The facility contains emergency power generators that can sustain operations for three days to support quick recovery during a disaster. The facility has also been identified for use as a disaster support base to be used for the delivery of relief supplies,’ comments GLP.

the campus spans 670,000 sqm