Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world with a population of 36 million people. This fast-paced city is known for its city planning, infrastructure, and the famous cherry blossom. Toranomon Hills is on its way to becoming the next famous thing in Tokyo, Japan. In 2016, Mori Building who is a famous developer announced the redevelopment of the Toranomon Hills. It is a large-scale redevelopment project which caters to three mixed-use buildings; Toranomon Hills Business Tower, Toranomon Hills Residential Tower, and Toranomon Hills Station Tower.
The completion of these three high rise buildings was expected to end in 2022 and the station line was expected to be available for the 2020 Olympics. The Toranomon Hill complex will be 7.5 hectares with a floor area of 800,000 m². This complex will have 350 hotel rooms along with 800 residential houses and approximately 26,000 m² of retail area. There will be a special infrastructure for landscaping of about 15,000 m².
The architect of this building, Director of OMA’s Newyork office, Shohei Shigematsu, won this project by winning a competition in 2016. The vision of Mori developers was to create a building as a response to its urban context, sensitively. The idea was to bring coherence between the densely planned area and the Toranomon Hills. Going through multiple design proposals and concepts, the developer and the architect agreed to make the core as the public realm. The metro station is going to open into a grand plaza which makes the urban spaces more lively and this is done for the first time in Tokyo.
The new station will have two platforms serving two tracks and will be located around the intersection of National Route 1 and Loop Road No. This is a model of the city regeneration model where the Toranomon Station would be built along with the Tokyo Metro Hibiya subway line. These towers are mixed-use buildings and hence they offer all kinds of infrastructure like office, hotel, communication hub, business hub, etc. There is an exchange space on the top floor that will allow events to occur.
It is designated as SEZ- Strategic Economic Zone for which the Olympics 2021 would be a turning point. The Toranomon area is expected to be an international hub that connects the city center of Tokyo to the world. This tower is 18 meters longer than the previous Toranoman hills. The height of this tower is 265 meters. The lower floors would contain world-renowned hotels and retail. The midsection would be office followed by residential units and the top floors are going to be hotels with infinity pool.
Shohei Shigematsu: “Toranomon Hills Station Tower serves as a key node that connects the new station to the other towers and the surrounding district. The axis of activity is designed to run through the base, extending vertically to wrap the tower; communicating the activity of the complex at an urban scale.”
This project is an ultimate example of Live, work, play culture, and has the capability to change the Fabric of Tokyo. This project aims to uplift the urbanized area and bring the city a joy of an urban neighborhood.
