In December TOTO USA opened its first company-owned and operated luxury showroom in the United States. The new TOTO Gallery is located at 25 Mercer Street (between Grand and Canal), ground floor, New York, NY, in Soho, the center of New York's design district.

“The new TOTO New York Gallery is designed to serve as a resource for the architectural and design communities,” said Lenora Campos, TOTO's public relations manager. “It will provide an educational environment where they and their clients may learn more about TOTO, its progressive social and environmental philosophies, and innovative products. Here also, at special events held several times a year, TOTO will invite members of these communities to preview product prototypes and provide important feedback on these designs.”

The gallery is designed as a minimalist industrial space with overhead track-lighting grids that focus a spotlight on specific products while establishing a rhythmic lucent pattern above. It has a natural maple floor and a series of lighted moveable dividers to create intimate spaces where architects, designers and their clientele may view the company's luxury bath fixtures and fittings as they might appear in a residential or high-end commercial space. In the conference area near the back of the gallery, a large flat-screen TV plays educational videos. The NEOREST 600 is displayed on a lighted three-foot circular pedestal in the large display window.

TOTO said it plans to open similar gallery spaces in Los Angeles, Chicago and southeast Florida in 2006.