The Shiodome master plan incorporates a 44-story office tower of 1,500,000 s.f. , a smaller tower for the Matsushita Headquarters of 47,600 s.f. , retail area of 30,000 s.f. , and the reconstructed historic Shimbashi station, Japan's first railroad depot, on an unusual site located at the south-eastern edge of the Ginza shopping area in central Tokyo.
From an urban design point of view, the project was challenging. The site is a very complex, irregular shape and faces a network of streets and elevated roadways on the north side, new large high-rise projects on the east and south sides, and an undistinguished low-rise development on the west side. Respectful of its historic and cultural importance, the reconstructed Shimbashi Railroad Station occupies the central and most prominent position on the site. It is flanked on the east by the Matsushita Headquarters and on the south by the larger Shiodome City Center Tower.
In order to take advantage of the views to the southeast of Hamarikyu Gardens and harbor and of the central business district and the Palace Gardens to the northwest, the Shiodome City Center Tower was rotated on the site. It was felt that a rotated rectangular building would not relate satisfactorily either to the Shimbashi Station or to the adjacent developments, so a number of different configurations were explored and finally a curved plan form was selected. The reversed curve surface was the result of two different concerns - a functional one, which was to maintain the lease span at the end of the core; and an aesthetic one, which was to create a more fluid facade expression.
Awards:
2003 Good Design Award in Architectural and Environmental Design
2004 IESNA Merit Award
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