The redevelopment of Tokyo’s Toranomon-Azabudai district has officially begun.
Heatherwick Studio has designed the public realm and lower-level podium architecture, landscaping, and retail for the project site, which will span more than eight hectares and include a 6,000-sm central landscaped square. The project will include a mix of office, residential, retail, a school, and a temple.
See Also: New office complex in Southern California strives to create a Silicon Valley-like campus vibe
In an effort to bring harmony and create a distinctive identity to this area of Tokyo, Heatherwick Studio devised a pergola-like system scaled up to district proportions to organize and unify elements of various sizes. This allows for significant green space at both the ground level and climbing up the podium buildings without sacrificing connectivity to the ground.
Courtesy Heatherwick Studio | Darcstudio.
The undulating structure echoes the form of the project’s valley setting, rising like a sloping hillside before puncturing the ground to allow natural light to pour deep into the basement retail zones. The pergola will rise approximately 141 feet and include seven floors above ground and six below. It is Heatherwick Studio’s first project in Japan to go into construction.
Courtesy DBOX for Mori Building Co.
“As a way of combining an architectural construction system with significant amounts of nature we developed the idea of a garden pergola scaled up to district size,” said Thomas Heatherwick, Founder, Heatherwick Studio, in a release. “This concept has allowed us to bring an overarching logic to an eight-hectare piece of Tokyo whilst also making space for facilities such as housing, shops, hotels, spas, a school and a temple within the sections framed by the grid.”
Courtesy DBOX for Mori Building Co.
The district will also include three skyscrapers designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the tallest of which will rise approximately 1,082 feet and become the tallest building in Japan. One of the other two towers will rise approximately 862 feet and become Tokyo’s second tallest tower.
Around 25 to 30 million people are expected to visit the area every year. The project broke ground on Aug. 5, 2019 and is slated for completion in 2023. Mori is developing the district.
Courtesy Heatherwick Studio | Darcstudio.
Courtesy Heatherwick Studio | Darcstudio.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Aug 4, 2021
Diamond Schmitt to lead design for Therme Canada | Ontario Place redevelopment
The project will be a year-round waterfront destination.
Mixed-Use | Aug 2, 2021
AT&T Discovery District is Dallas’ newest mixed-use destination
Gensler designed the project.
Mixed-Use | Jul 16, 2021
SOM to lead the design of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Village
The project is part of the updated Porta Romana railway yard master plan.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 15, 2021
Greystar’s The Pullman is a new mixed-use apartment community in Denver
The Mulhern Group designed the project.
Mixed-Use | Jun 30, 2021
Design details released about new development in Seattle’s vibrant Belltown district
Connecting the building, called Archetype, to the street, neighborhood, and bay is a key imperative.
Mixed-Use | Jun 21, 2021
Design team of Gensler and Manning selected to design The River District
The mixed-use neighborhood will be built along the Mississippi River in New Orleans.
Mixed-Use | Jun 17, 2021
London’s former Old War Office building set to become hotel and residences
The building had been closed to the public for over a century.
Mixed-Use | Jun 14, 2021
SB Architects and LandDesign unveil design for Rivana at Innovation Station
The development is located 25 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C.
Mixed-Use | Jun 10, 2021
Safdie Architects unveils design for ORCA Toronto
The project comprises nine towers in total.
Mixed-Use | Jun 7, 2021
Henning Larsen designs an active community hub for London
The project will be the firm’s first in London.
