Pelli Clarke & Partners' A District tower, a 330-meter mixed-use high-rise in central Tokyo, has finally topped out to become the tallest building in the country. The tower is part of the Tora Asa urban village, which aims to "forge a city within the city" and revitalize Tokyo's city center. A District Tower will feature large-scale office spaces, residences, a school, a medical center, and retail facilities, along with vast green spaces on the ground floor.
The project's general concept is to create a "vertical garden city within a modern urban village" where all facilities and public green spaces are interconnected and within walking distance from each other. Located in central Tokyo's Toronamon-Azabudai District, the tower will offer 204,000m² of large-scale office spaces with a standard floor plate of approximately 4,300m², and 13,000m² of retail facilities. Private residences will be built in partnership with Aman, operator of world-class hotels and resorts. The project will also include the Keio University Center for Preventive Medicine (tentative name) and the British School in Tokyo, which is set to be one of the largest international schools in central Tokyo.
The offices will occupy floors 7-52, and will be arranged in spacious column-free layouts to allow for freely open offices. Floors 54-64 of the A District tower will comprise a 91-unit branded residence, with interiors crafted by international design studio Yabu Pushelberg. The British School will occupy the first 8 floors, joined by the medical center (floors 5 and 6), and the retail spaces (ground to 4th floor).
The entire building will employ an extra-high level of earthquake resistance to help ensure the continuous safety of tenants. As for environment, tenants will be able to decarbonize their businesses by offering 100% renewable energy power, compliant with the Renewable Energy 100% (RE100) international environmental initiative. Various other systems will also be provided to allow the entire complex to be utilized as a workplace for free and creative workstyles unique to the Toranomon-Azabudai Project.
Mori Building Co. Ltd has begun construction on the "Toranomon-Azabudai District Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Project” in 2019. The public realm and lower-level architecture are created by UK based Heatherwick Studio, the three skyscrapers are designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, and the retail space are imagined by Sou Fujimoto Architects. The project is set to be complete in 2023.
