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not a skyscaper, but...don't they have serious earthquake problems?  :-o

 

 

Japanese planners reveal design of world's tallest tower for downtown Tokyo

Nov 25 4:38 PM US/Eastern

 

Japanese planners reveal design of world's tallest tower for downtown Tokyo

 

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese planners this week revealed the design of a huge broadcast tower that is set to become the world's tallest structure upon completion in 2011, eclipsing even Canada's CN Tower.

 

The tower will stand 613.5 metres tall, according to Tobu Railway Co., which has provided land for the project. Once finished, it will claim the title from the CN Tower in Toronto, 553-metre-tall communications structure and outlook point which is currently the world's tallest freestanding structure.

 

Dubbed the "New Tokyo Tower," the building will replace a 332-metre tower built in 1958.

 

The new tower, designed by award-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando and sculptor Kiichi Sumikawa, will stand on a triangular foundation. But its slender body will turn into a cylinder as it stretches upward, its bluish-silver colour blending into the sky.

 

The tower is being built by Japan's six top broadcasters and is expected to greatly bolster television and radio transmissions in the capital.

 

Though it now competes with a plethora of skyscrapers, the old tower is one of Tokyo's most visible landmarks and is visited by 2.5 million tourists each year. The new tower will stand in the capital's Sumida ward, an area wedged between the Sumida and Arakawa rivers and known for its old-Tokyo ambiance.

 

Sumida ward beat out 15 other areas in Tokyo to host the tower, many of which were dropped after failing broadcast feasibility tests or coming up short in other ways, including the availability of mass transit.

 

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/cp_u112504A.xml.html

 

current tokyo tower

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new tokyo tower rendering

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That's pretty cool looking, sorta looks like an Eiffel Tower V2.0

I have been to the top of the Tokyo Tower a few years ago.  AMAZING views! It was around New Years so visabilty was at it's best. The basin all lit up at night is a sight to see.

  • 11 years later...

Plans for a 70-story WOOD skyscraper in Tokyo. Would be world's tallest wood building.

 

"....experts say that building with wood can be more sustainable than building with steel and concrete. Wood stores carbon that otherwise might wind up in the atmosphere as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, whereas the production of concrete and steel releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere....

 

And while building a tower the size of W350 requires the toppling of more than a few trees, “the amount of wood used in this building can be regrown in our global forests within a matter of hours,” Casey Malmquist, founder of SmartLam, a CLT manufacturer in Columbia Falls, Montana, told NBC News MACH in an email.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/world-s-tallest-building-made-wood-planned-tokyo-ncna851606

 

 

  • 6 months later...

Didn't realize there was a Tokyo thread.  Just throwing in some photos from this year:

 

Here's the completed tower.  Don't look at the signs on the businesses! (i stayed in a seedy area)

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  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Very cool; thanks for sharing this news. Tokyo is one of my favorite cities. I would love to walk on the roof of this building when it's completed. 

I've been to the top of the Sky Tree and the Mori Building.
 

From the Tokyo City View (Mori Building roof) at night: 

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The Tokyo Sky Tree on a smoggy day:

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Edited by dwhershberger
Because English is my first language.

^ very nice pics! when i last spent quality time in tokyo skytree was just being built. last time i was there we just did not have time.

 

i love the mori bldg, great views up there and its just a fantastic experience.

 

the metro gov bldg is another great place to see the cityscape and of course yet another cool thing about tokyo is you can get interesting views from the rooftops of any of the big dept stores.

  • 2 weeks later...

This monster of a tower has a similar roof height to One World Trade Center but you'd never know it looking at these renderings. It's so huge! At around 5.9 million square feet, it's 2.4 million more than One World Trade Center. Floor plates are around 300' x 300' vs the 201' x 201' of One World Trade Center (which then tapers to a 45 degree rotated 140' x 140' square at the top). This thing is an absolute monster. I thought Tokyo Midtown Tower and Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills were big. This dominates them.

 

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/torch-tower-tokyo-skyscraper/index.html

 

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Edited by jmicha

here is another tall one for tokyo (1,083'). the ambitious toranomon-azabudai project, in central tokyo, aims to be "a city-within-a-city," according to the developers.

 

images of the planned exterior show a sleek skyscraper with gently curving edges and a crown resembling flower petals. two shorter, boxier towers will also be built on the site.

 

it will become the tallest in japan when it opens in 2023, although torch tower will surpass it.

 

osaka's abeno harukas tower is japan's current tallest tower (984'). 

 

 

more:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/japan-tallest-building-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html

 

 

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I see Mori is using their tried and true "city-in-a-city" development strategy. ENORMOUS commercial/office structure anchoring a development that has a public space in the middle and a series of smaller residential and/or hotel towers. I must say, having walked around several others they did, it works fairly well and really does feel like a city in a city. This one specifically looks almost identical to their Roppongi Hills development.

  • 4 months later...

less new apts in japan lately

 

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watch them build a house japanese style in 6min:

 

 

 

  • 10 months later...

what's up in tokyo? actually not a lot of note -- but a few things --

 

 

Market Data

Five largest construction projects initiated in Japan in Q3 2021

 

By Carmen 12 Oct 2021 (Last Updated October 20th, 2021 14:53)

 

Here are the five largest construction projects initiated in Japan during Q3 2021, according to GlobalData’s construction projects database.

 

 

more:

https://www.designbuild-network.com/marketdata/top-five-construction-projects-japan-q3-2021/

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

toronoman main tower has topped out -- 

 

 

I will be in Tokyo in may for four days, and will try to take a good amount of pictures. If anyone has any recommendations please feel free to message me. Will also be visiting Osaka/Kyoto.

9 hours ago, Clefan14 said:

I will be in Tokyo in may for four days, and will try to take a good amount of pictures. If anyone has any recommendations please feel free to message me. Will also be visiting Osaka/Kyoto.

Have fun!  I don't know that there is that much to see in Osaka that rivals Tokyo. Osaka is *only* as big as NYC.  I suggest spending more time in Kyoto if possible.  (As I recall it's only about a 40minute train ride from Osaka.)

On 2/25/2023 at 11:51 AM, Clefan14 said:

I will be in Tokyo in may for four days, and will try to take a good amount of pictures. If anyone has any recommendations please feel free to message me. Will also be visiting Osaka/Kyoto.

 

oh geez -- it really depends on how good your japanese is and how much time you have.

 

maybe its because i am a ny'er, but i would definitely spend any spare time in kyoto, so here are my recs for that: 

 

the ne and east side and the main hikes. also absolutely walk around gion at night and have a meal out on a river deck restaurant nearby.

 

the westside would be next. if you can go to arashiyama, and you should, my big rec is get a bike as soon as you step off the train and ride around there. 

 

to the south is fushimi. its easy to get to and as unique a hike as it gets thru the gates.

 

if you are into it go find a little sake bar downtown -- they are much more relaxed than clubby tokyo versions.

 

also -- fyi the northside is for long stays in kyoto only and has the very famous hikes thru the mountains. definitely a bucket list thing for me.

 

have fun and i hope you can do a thread or ten for us afterwards -- 

  • 1 month later...

what's up this year tokyo? lots of project info links:

 

 

 

CITIES AND URBANIZATION

What’s behind Tokyo’s massive redevelopment?

 

Feb 21, 2023

Naoko Tochibayashi

Public Engagement Lead, World Economic Forum, Japan

 

 

Tokyo is in the midst of large-scale redevelopment that includes plans pegged as a “once-in-a-century” undertaking.

 

The construction sites are stretched out throughout the city including Shibuya, a pop-culture hub; the Tokyo Station area near the Imperial Palace; the Toranomon or Azabudai area, where offices and residences will coexist; and the waterfront area, which hosted the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, all of which are stretched throughout the city.

 

Why Tokyo is redeveloping now?

 

There are several reasons why Japan’s capital is changing at such a dizzying pace. While the lifecycle of a building constructed with reinforced concrete could last between 68 years to 150 years, depending on the finishing material and method, legally the number of years the structure will remain useful as a fixed asset is set at 47 years. 

 

Also, office buildings that were constructed during the booming economy in the latter half of the 1980s or the “bubble economy” are now due for reconstruction. Most importantly, office buildings with old earthquake resistance standards need to be reconstructed. There is also a need for disaster-prevention redevelopment in response to lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011.

 

 

more:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/what-s-behind-tokyo-s-massive-redevelopment-project-forecast-100-years-into-the-future/

toronoman hills station tower -- set to open in the fall:

 

 

a multi-purpose 873'/266m high tower with 49 floors above ground and 4 floors underground (integrated the overall development with Toranomon Hills Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line). The tower will include global-level office with standard floors of about 3,400m², retail facilities integrated with the station plaza and a world-class hotel.

 

https://xtech.nikkei.com/atcl/nxt/column/18/00154/01652/

 

 

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  • 7 months later...

One of the most shocking things when visiting Tokyo was just how beefy their biggest buildings are. They're wiiiiide. This tower will be about 350' wide. For reference, 1 World Trade Center is 208' wide. You end up with absolute monsters of square footage at much lower heights than we're used to here in the US.

 

This development is slated to be nearly 6 million square feet. Unfathomably huge.

Is the width due to seismic reasons?

Just now, bjk said:

Is the width due to seismic reasons?

It definitely makes it easier to deal with, yes. Tall and skinny is more costly to engineer than short and squat.

 

The other aspect is that these gigantic towers are quite often part of "city within a city" type developments. This, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, Azabudai Hills, Toranomon Hills, etc. are all massive developments anchored by a gigantic tower. It has become a Tokyo archetype in the last couple decades there. By concentrating tons of square footage in such a huge tower, it allows developers to utilize the rest of the site for interesting public space, low buildings, etc. It's certainly interesting and done better in Tokyo than in comparable developments in the West in my opinion.

  • 2 months later...

^ Looks like the USA is about 60 years behind Japan in that regard. It's pretty sad. 

On 12/18/2023 at 3:30 PM, jmicha said:

The other aspect is that these gigantic towers are quite often part of "city within a city" type developments. This, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, Azabudai Hills, Toranomon Hills, etc. are all massive developments anchored by a gigantic tower. It has become a Tokyo archetype in the last couple decades there. By concentrating tons of square footage in such a huge tower, it allows developers to utilize the rest of the site for interesting public space, low buildings, etc. It's certainly interesting and done better in Tokyo than in comparable developments in the West in my opinion.

About five years ago I visited an art museum on the top floors of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. When you step off the elevator on the 52nd floor, you are greeted with a two-story, large open space with escalators leading to the museum entrance. I remember being quite surprised by the scale of the thing near the top of a skyscraper. 

IMG_20181006_172123.jpg

2 hours ago, dwhershberger said:

About five years ago I visited an art museum on the top floors of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. When you step off the elevator on the 52nd floor, you are greeted with a two-story, large open space with escalators leading to the museum entrance. I remember being quite surprised by the scale of the thing near the top of a skyscraper. 

IMG_20181006_172123.jpg

I'm still kicking myself for not going up there while in Tokyo. Next time!

^ i know, its hard to do it all when you are visiting someplace, but next time its mandatory 👍 --

 

also the massive open roof top area itself is just jaw dropping, much less the views. 🙌

34 minutes ago, mrnyc said:

^ i know, its hard to do it all when you are visiting someplace, but next time its mandatory 👍 --

 

also the massive open roof top area itself is just jaw dropping, much less the views. 🙌

Agreed. Terrible shots from my phone below:
 

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Edited by dwhershberger

On 3/8/2024 at 7:08 AM, dwhershberger said:

About five years ago I visited an art museum on the top floors of the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. When you step off the elevator on the 52nd floor, you are greeted with a two-story, large open space with escalators leading to the museum entrance. I remember being quite surprised by the scale of the thing near the top of a skyscraper. 

IMG_20181006_172123.jpg

I visited the Mori Tower right after it opened in about 2000, I believe; their first major exhibit was about high-rise living in Tokyo, arguing that more skyscrapers was the key to keeping Tokyo livable. That vision has largely been realized - there has been incredible construction in Tokyo, and to a lesser degree in Japan's other major cities, in the past two decades, as mentioned above. It's also part of the reason Japan remains affordable, with quality residential space, at least in the major metro areas. That is less the case in the rural areas. 

this mega project is at least as impressive as any actual building —

 

 

 

  • 3 weeks later...

torch tower model —

 

 

 

 

Groundbreaking Ceremony held for Torch Tower, to be Japan’s Tallest Building at 385m

 

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:03 JST, September 27, 2023

 

 

Mitsubishi Estate Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for Torch Tower, a skyscraper to be built near the Nihombashi exit of JR Tokyo Station.

 

The 62-story, 385-meter-high building is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2028, and it will surpass the Abeno Harukasu building in Osaka, which is 300 meters tall, and the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower in Tokyo’s Minato Ward at 330 meters, which opened in November.

 

more:

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20230927-139467/

 

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  • 1 month later...

 

Kabukicho Tower, New 225-Meter-Tall Skyscraper in Shinjuku Keeps History, Culture of Entertainment District Alive

 

By Kohei Tsukamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:30 JST, March 22, 2024

 

 

A high-rise landmark opened last year in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, one of the world’s leading nightlife districts.

 

Tokyu Kabukicho Tower — a skyscraper 225 meters tall, with 48 floors above ground and five floors below — houses a multiplex cinema, hotel, theater and more, and has been crowded with tourists since its opening last April.

 

In addition to its height, what is striking about the building is its architecture: a splash-like dynamic shape that is said to have been inspired by fountains. The windows are designed to resemble the shape of a wave, and water can be felt in every detail.

 

 

more:

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20240322-175972/

 

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The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyu Kabukicho Tower

  • 7 months later...

u/c in shibuya —

 

Name: Dogenzaka 2-Chōme South District Type 1 Urban Redevelopment Project
Location: Dogenzaka 2-Chōme, Shibuya, Tokyo (Japan)
Status: under construction
Height: 156.14 meters (512 feet) & 60 meters (197 feet)
Floor Count: 30 (+2 penthouse floors) & 11 (+1 penthouse floor)
Basement Floors: 3 & 2
Construction Dates: 2024 (began) - 2027 (will finish)

 

more:

https://bluestyle.livedoor.biz/archives/52564040.html


Article's first paragraph translated from Japanese:

 

This is a rendering of the completed "Dogenzaka 2-Chōme South District Type 1 Urban Redevelopment Project" to be constructed in Dogenzaka, Shibuya. The construction site is between Shibuya Mark City West and Dogenzaka, and will include a 30-story, 156.14m-tall skyscraper office building and an 11-story, 60m-tall hotel called "TRUNK(HOTEL) DOGENZAKA (provisional name)." This article provides an overview of the redevelopment project, its construction status (as of April 20, 2024), and maps.

 

 

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Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Urban Development

 

 

  • 4 weeks later...

I love these chunky ass "city in a building" developments. The scale of these towers is so hard to appreciate via photos/video. In person, developments like this, Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown, etc. are insanely huge feeling. The main tower here is nearly twice the width of 1 World Trade Center and nearly as tall as its roof. It's insane just how much floor area there is in these buildings.

See that's what I'm talking about! Each one of those chunky ass towers is nearly 3 million square feet, or ~40% larger than the Empire State Building with only 40 stories vs the ESB's 102. Incredible.

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