This 20-story mixed-use development stands on two parcels formerly occupied by the Tokyo Department Store in the Nihonbashi district, and is adjacent to a number of historic sites in the city. The design solution proposes a structure that connects to the surrounding low scale as it rises substantially above it. The predominant component is commercial office space designed to meet the requirements of international financial institutions. The design places all of the vertical service elements along the orth side of the site, in order to accommodate the large depth desired for this type of office space within the confines of a relatively narrow site.
The core and the office volume are expressed as distinct elements, and are clad in stone and glass respectively. The introduction of natural light into the office areas is carefully modulated by louvered shading devices. A clear space of 66 feet from core to wall structures the office volume and provides the opportunity for internal circulation along the glass and gives to the curving south wall a sense of weightless suspension. This gently bowing surface is separated in its articulation from the mass it encloses by deep reveals at the east and west ends to enhance its role as an independent enclosing layer.
Below the office space is a five-story glass volume at the corner of Chuodori and Etai-dori. Extruded from the mass of the tower, it houses the retail space and is clad in an enclosure composed of closely spaced vertical glass fins projecting from a clear glass wall. Rising at a height of thirty meters, it establishes an urban connection with its neighbors.
Selected Awards:
Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific Finalist (2005)
MIPIM Awards, Business Centers Category Finalist (2005)
View Original