Today sees the completion of Richard Meier‘s first residential project in Japan, one of the pair that make up the Harumi Residential Towers in Tokyo’s Harumi Chuo-ku City. Named after their site — one of the artificial islands in Tokyo Bay, a stone’s throw from the mainland — the waterfront condominiums are adjacent to the planned Olympic Village for the 2020 Summer Games.
Photos by Ishiguro Photographic Institute, Courtesy Richard Meier & Partners
The design might be deemed as reliably Meier: The overall form and massing are characteristically Corbusian, while the façades are uniformly striped with narrow wraparound balconies that are interrupted at the vertices to break the symmetry; white is a given. The two buildings vary only slightly — according to Partner-in-Charge Dukho Yeon, “The residential towers are conceptualized as siblings … each with its own character, image, and movement, in dialogue and harmony with one another.”
If the architecture itself seems understated or even conservative, Meier emphasizes the context: “This new project in Tokyo is comprised of two towers, but, perhaps more important, a large-scale public space that will serve the neighborhood and connect it to a magnificent promenade at the bay. This will be a profound link between the domestic and urban scales, and the towers will become a gateway to the city, creating a sense of place for all the citizens of Tokyo and Japan.”
The high-rises will offer exceptional views of the Harumi canal and Rainbow Bridge, with shared amenities such as a terrace garden, a café, a fitness center, event rooms, and a library (less obvious is the automated parking within, typical of Tokyo). Both the C1 tower and its forthcoming twin top out at 170 meters (557 feet) at 49 stories each, with a grand total of 1,744 units between them; the first had reportedly sold out over a year ago, despite the fact that the completion date was pushed back from last year. (The timeline for the second tower trails that of the first by roughly a year.)
Mitsubishi Estate, the second-largest developer in Japan, awarded the project to Meier in 2009, well in advance of Tokyo securing the Olympic bid in 2013. The property value of the immediate vicinity — which has undergone significant development since the 90s — has skyrocketed ever since. In the wake of the economic crisis of the 80s, Japan’s real estate market has been tepid at best, but the past few years have seen renewed interest in the development of Tokyo Bay, which will certainly benefit Meier’s Harumi Residential Towers.