Tokyo, Japan
European Prize for Architecture Laureate Christoph Ingenhoven, together with associate architects Irie Miyake Architects & Engineers and Kume Sekkei and Takenaka Corporation, has completed Toranomon Hills for Mori Building as a new “Vertical Garden City” in Tokyo.
Toranomon Hills has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award and a 2023 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The two new buildings introduce residential and office programming to the city, with the office tower rising thirty-six stories and 185 meters (607 feet), and the residential tower rising 54 stories and 220 meters (721 feet) to become Japan‘s tallest residential building.
A green, publicly accessible plateau connects all three high-rise buildings at the first above-ground level.
Their designs are intended to be paired with the vertically emphasized Toranomon Hills Mori tower.
Locating lots of Greenery at a lower level brings up the continuity through Atagoyama greenery which creates a sense of unity for the city.
“The core aim was to design two new towers, which integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood, respecting the taller central tower while presenting their own contemporary urban response,” states Christoph Ingenhoven.
“And to give something back to the city by offering a green, publicly accessible plateau at the first above-ground level—a place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of this large city.”
The central design element is the rich plant life that interweaves the skyscrapers with their environment.
“The core aim was to design two new towers, which integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood, respecting the taller central tower while presenting their own contemporary urban response,” states Christoph Ingenhoven.
“And to give something back to the city by offering a green, publicly accessible plateau at the first above-ground level—a place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of this large city.”
The central design element is the rich plant life that interweaves the skyscrapers with their environment.
The two new towers integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood, respecting the taller central tower while presenting their own contemporary urban response.
They reflect the greenery of the adjacent parks and gardens of the historic Atago Shrine, a Shintō shrine dating back to 1603.
The towers fan out towards the ground-level zone in stepped terraces with a public green plateau above the plaza at street level.
The plateau is reserved for pedestrians and links all three towers together, providing access to the cafés and restaurants in both new high-rises, along with shops, a large lobby, and coworking space in the office tower.
Benches invite visitors to linger and enjoy the exercise areas and tranquil fountains – a place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of the largest city in the world.
“We integrated urban green into the project, which is not very common in Tokyo, to create a green, lively, publicly accessible plateau at the first above-ground level,” explained Ingenhoven.
“The plateau is reserved for pedestrians and links all three towers together, providing access to the cafes and restaurants in both new high-rises, along with shops, a large lobby, and coworking space in the office tower. A place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of the world’s largest city.”
The towers are designed to accommodate possible earthquakes and typhoons, for example, through appropriate building component dimensions.
Like ancient temple buildings, the high-rises are structurally configured to passively dampen seismic vibrations.
Both towers are characterized by decks finished in white, powder-coated aluminum, which serve as sunshades and balconies.
In the residential tower designed with Kume Sekkei Co., Ltd., and Takenaka Corporation, each of the 550 condominiums and serviced apartments has its own balcony.
Shared facilities include a spa, pool, guest rooms, fitness center, and childcare.
The protruding decks also include space for the greenery planted up to the seventh and eleventh floors, respectively.
These plants were selected according to their location on the buildings in terms of elevation and wind exposure.
Trees and shrubs were planted up to the second floor; for the levels above that, shorter plants were chosen.
Toranomon business tower designed by Irie Miyake Architects & Engineers consists of large-scale offices and retail facilities and also has a rooftop garden.
The total green area of the ensemble is approximately 7,800 m2 and includes numerous tall trees.
This achieves a green replacement rate of 64.5% and a CASBEE “S” rating – the highest level in this classification.
With a new metro station on the Hibiya Line on the lower level, plus an express bus station providing transit to both intercontinental airports, the new towers are optimally connected to the public transport system.
The Toranomon Azabu Dai complex is the largest urban development project by Mori Building and was initiated by Minoru Mori (1934–2012), a notable Japanese businessman and president of Mori Building, one of the largest private real estate developers in Japan.
The name “Toranomon,” Japanese for “Tiger Gate,” recalls the southernmost gate of the Imperial Palace that once stood at this site, which was demolished in the 1870s.
“The core aim was to design two new towers, which integrate well with the surrounding neighborhood, respecting the taller central tower while presenting their own contemporary urban response,” states Ingenhoven.
“And to give something back to the city by offering a green, publicly accessible plateau at the first above-ground level—a place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of this large city.”
Project: Toranomon Hills
Architects: Ingenhoven Architects
Design Team: Christoph Ingenhoven, Martin Reuter, Kenta Mabuchi, Soichi Kadokawa, Kenzo Nakakoji, Sho Ito, and Leonardo Micolta Diaz
Associate Project Architects: Irie Miyake Architects & Engineers (Office Tower) and Kume Sekkei Co., Ltd., Takenaka Corporation (Residential Tower)
General Contractors: Obayashi Corporation (Office Tower) and Takenaka Corporation (Residential Tower)
Structural Engineers: Yamashita Sekkei (Office Tower) and Takenaka Corporation (Residential Tower)
Landscape Architects: Ingenhoven Architects
Consulting Landscape Architects on Site: Townscape
Lighting Designers: Sirius Lighting Office
Interior Designers: Tony Chi Associates (Residential Tower)
Client: Mori Building Co. Ltd.
Photographers: Webershandwick
