A new district in the heart of Tokyo designed by Heatherwick Studio has been opened by the Prime Minister of Japan, marking the culmination of a thirty-year long regeneration process steered by Mori Building Company.

The Azabudai Hills site encompasses a long, narrow district running from east to west, originally broken up by hills and valleys in a convoluted terrain. The fragmented district was populated with small, old wooden houses and buildings, many of which were deteriorating.

Overall, the city infrastructure was in need of an upgrade.

The Council of Redeveloping Cities was established in 1989. Since then, in collaboration with some 300 landowners representing different positions and circumstances, the Toranomon-Azabudai area was discussed and planned over more than 30 years.

In 2017, the City Plan was approved based on the Law of National Strategic Special Zones, and following approval of the establishment of Toranomon-Azabudai District Urban Redevelopment Association, construction began on August 5, 2019 and opened today, November 24, 2023.

Heatherwick designed the public realm and lower podium level architecture which includes homes, shops and restaurants, a hotel, cultural facilities and the studio’s first school.

Azabudai Hills continues Mori’s commitment to creating garden cities by featuring many casual gathering spaces throughout 2.4ha of nature and public gardens which include walkable facades, an informal amphitheatre and multiple water scapes.

“This is a joyful and unique public place for Tokyo, designed to be cherished for many years.”

 

Working with a complicated, irregular-shaped plot spanning more than eight hectares, Heatherwick has sought to bring harmony and to create a distinctive identity that is particular to Tokyo.

The team devised a pergola-like system scaled up to district proportions to organise and unify many different elements of various sizes. In this way, the design allows for significant green space both at ground level and climbing up the podium buildings, without sacrificing connectivity to the ground.

Echoing the natural forms of the project’s valley setting, the undulating structure rises like a gently sloping hillside before puncturing the ground to allow natural light to pour deep into the basement retail zones.

“We were inspired to create a district that connects with people’s emotions in a different way. By combining cultural and social facilities with an extraordinary three-dimensional, explorable, landscape, it’s been possible to offer visitors and the local community somewhere to connect with each other and enjoy open green public spaces,” founder Thomas Heatherwick said. “This is a joyful and unique public place for Tokyo, designed to be cherished for many years.”

Azabudai Hills is expected receive twenty-five to thirty million visitors annually.