Tokyo, Japan
Grandberry Park Complex is an innovative transit-oriented development conceived and designed by Laguarda. Low Architects and Tokyu Architects & Engineers, which contains dynamic spaces for socializing, leisure, and entertainment as well as a new train depot.
This development has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Many elements contribute to make this project unique: firstly, the incredible opportunity to enhance the urban context, atmosphere, and life of the local Machida community; secondly, the immediate proximity and mutually beneficial relationship with the Machida Station; and last but not least, the direct connection to Tsuruma Park.
Faced with these invaluable parameters, the architects were encouraged to take the design one step further, to create something special that would raise the quality of the entire development to a new level.
The team focuses on the design of the spaces in-between buildings, rather than the space around object buildings as a second thought.
These choreographed spaces for people are structured in a series of seven public plazas connected by promenades that are designed not as simple corridors, but with great attention to the user’s multiple and differentiated sightlines within a constantly changing experience.
The opportunity for the team to eliminate the existing street between the site and Tsuruma Park gives the project another dimension, a direct pedestrian link from the Grandberry Complex to a lushly secluded and intimate green space in the heart of the Machida neighborhood.
The architecture of the lifestyle center, in deference to the spaces between the objects, is defined by a mix of intimate, low-slung structures with varying facades in an array of materials.
This allows for maximum future flexibility of the retail spaces while still incorporating individuality into the storefronts.
Additionally, sections of the second-floor circulation are integrated within the building volume to help retain the unique look of a village.
The result is a pedestrian-scale elevation in tune with the surrounding residential landscape.
From its inception, Grandberry Park was set to improve upon the typical shopping and leisure experience through a combination of the built form and open natural spaces.
By taking advantage of existing site conditions, the retail site remains elevated, melding seamlessly into the landscape.
Visitors navigating the site are thus linked to nature every step of the way, with opportunities to gather on a bench, view a public event, or picnic on the great lawn.
The natural environment is captured within the architectural gestures of the buildings and material selection.
Facades of wood and stone and a building featuring a living green wall connect the experience of the center with its broader context.
Sustainable strategies include rainwater collection, permeable pavement and bioswales, and a direct connection to Tsuruma Park.
The implementation of green infrastructure resulted in Grandberry Park receiving LEED Gold Certification in both New Construction and Neighborhood Development.
Project: Grandberry Park Complex
Architects: Laguarda.Low Architects
Associate Architects: Tokyu Architects & Engineers Inc.
Client: Tokyu Corporation
Contractor: Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Kawasumi-Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office
