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 Interactive map of Tokyo Midtown | |
| Location | 9 Akasaka Akasaka,Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
|---|---|
| Status | Complete |
| Groundbreaking | May 18, 2004 |
| Constructed | 2004–2007 |
| Opening | March 30, 2007 |
| Use | Mixed |
| Website | www |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
| Developer | Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd |
| Owner | Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd |
| Manager | Tokyo Midtown Management Co., Ltd. |
| Technical details | |
| Cost | ¥370 billion ($3 billion) |
| Buildings | 6 |
| Size | 10 hectare |
Tokyo Midtown (東京ミッドタウン,Tōkyō Middotaun) is a 569,000-square-meter (6.1 million sq ft)mixed-use development inAkasaka, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in March 2007, the $3 billion (¥370 billion) project includes office, residential, commercial, hotel, and leisure space, and the new quarters of theSuntory Museum of Art. When completed, theMidtown Tower was the tallest building in Tokyo. The main building complex is surrounded by Hinokicho Park, a 10-acre public park containing green areas along with works of art.[1][2]
The site takes up 78,000 square meters (19 acres) previously occupied by theJapan Defense Agency inAkasaka area ofMinato, along Gaien Higashi and close toRoppongi Station, and less than a kilometer (half a mile) from the similarly scaledRoppongi Hills complex.[1][2]
The primary developer wasMitsui Fudosan, working in concert with several partners. The project was designed by architectural firmSkidmore, Owings & Merrill;[3]Nikken Sekkei is the local architect of record. Landscape architecture of the surrounding new 40,000 m2 (9.9 acres) public park was designed byEDAW, the Suntory Museum of Art byKengo Kuma, and the design of the retail Galleria handled by theColorado-basedCommArts.
The 330,000 square meters (3.5 million square feet) of office space includes as its main tenantsFujifilm,Fuji Xerox,Yahoo! Japan,Cisco Japan,Uniqlo,Nikko Asset Management andKonami, as well as a medical clinic affiliated with theU.S.-basedJohns Hopkins Hospital. The luxury 250-roomRitz-Carlton Hotel occupies the 47th through 53rd floors of Midtown Tower, their first hotel in Tokyo, under a long-term lease arrangement.[9] Other tenants include the international law firmsMilbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy andHerbert Smith LLP.
The 5-floor retail Galleria, with 73,000 square meters (790,000 square feet) of stores, restaurants and shops includes the firstTerence Conran restaurants in Japan, a wine bar (Coppola's Vinoteca) showcasing the wines ofFrancis Ford Coppola, and an outlet of high-end American food retailerDean & DeLuca.
Tokyo Midtown is also the home of21 21 Design Sight, a design gallery/workshop created by fashion designerIssey Miyake and architectTadao Ando. "The idea was to create not only a museum that shows exhibits," says Ando, "but also a place for researching the potentiality of design as an element that enriches our daily life, a place that fosters the public's interest in design by arousing in them different sights and perspectives on how we can view the world and the objects surrounding us."[10] The building, designed by Ando, is on the edge of the park area, and features 1,700 square meters (18,000 square feet) of floor space, including two galleries and an attached cafe run by chef and restaurateurTakamasa Uetake. The split-level concrete structure includes a hand-sanded steel roof (whose design was inspired by Issey Miyake's A-POC ("A Piece of Cloth") concept) and 14-meter (46-foot) long glass panels.
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The site of Tokyo Midtown was the home of theMōri clan during theEdo period. In 1873 theImperial Japanese Army established a camp on the site, which became home to units of the1st Division following theRusso-Japanese War. In 1946, the United States Army took over the site and it was re-purposed as officer housing. The site was returned to Japan in 1960 and became known asCamp Hinokicho (JGSDF parlance) andHinokicho Air Base (JASDF parlance), housing the headquarters of theJapan Defense Agency and various other command and control functions for theJapan Self-Defense Forces for the next forty years.
In 1988, the Japanese government authorized a large-scale relocation of various government agencies in order to re-develop prime government land for commercial purposes. As part of this plan, it was decided in the 1990s to move the JDA headquarters and re-develop the site. The base was formally closed in May 2000 and its functions were relocated toIchigaya. A consortium of developers includingMitsui Fudosan,Sekisui House, and several life insurance companies won a public tender to purchase the site, paving the way for its development as Tokyo Midtown. Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2007.
35°39′57″N139°43′52″E / 35.66583°N 139.73111°E /35.66583; 139.73111
