Urban redevelopment creates a world-class new neighborhood in the heart of Tokyo
City-within-a-city, where people can live, work and enjoy themselves within walking distance
Overwhelming emphasis on “Green & Wellness” with 24,000m2 of lush greenery
Prime location and integrated functionalities strengthen the international competitiveness of Tokyo
TOKYO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 23, 2023 — Mori Building Co., Ltd., Japan’s leading urban landscape developer, today marked the official launch of Azabudai Hills, a mixed-use complex and world-class new neighborhood in central Tokyo. Embracing the concept of “Modern Urban Village – Green & Wellness”, Azabudai Hills is a nature-rich landmark with integrated urban functionalities including a top-tier business center, residential, retail, cultural, medical facilities, educational institutions and a large open space filled with lush greenery that brings people together.
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©DBOX for Mori Building Co., Ltd - Azabudai Hills (Graphic: Business Wire)
Mori Building’s vision for Azabudai Hills is to become a standard-setting 21st century "Green & Wellness" community, where people live harmoniously with nature. Spanning approximately 8.1 hectares, Azabudai Hills has a total floor area of approximately 861,700m², including 214,500m² of office space, 24,000m² of greenery, 1,400 residential units, 122 hotel rooms and around 150 retail shops and restaurants. Mori JP Tower soars to a height of 330 meters, making it the tallest building in Japan. This reimagined “city within a city” neighborhood will host approximately 20,000 office workers and 3,500 residents when fully occupied and is expected to welcome 30 million visitors per year.
“Mori Building is dedicated to creating and nurturing cities’ vitality through large-scale urban redevelopment projects,” said Shingo Tsuji, President and CEO of Mori Building Co., Ltd. “Over the years, we continue to anticipate the direction of future cities as society evolves. Major cities around the world have gone through tremendous changes in recent years. We believe that what people want from urban living in the future is to have access to integrated functionalities while being able to live in harmony with nature, to build relationships with others and to enjoy physical and mental wellbeing. We wanted to create a neighborhood that embodies these values in the heart of Tokyo. Azabudai Hills demonstrates our vision of ‘Green & Wellness’ for urban life as well as our ambition to contribute to the international competitiveness of Tokyo.”
Design Inspired by Green & Wellness
Azabudai Hills embodies Mori's vision of Modern Urban Village –Green & Wellness, a huge open space filled with lush greenery that brings people together to build a new community in the heart of Tokyo.
The architectural design of Azabudai Hills began with outlining the flow of people and a seamless landscape with a Central Green public square. Locations were then considered for the high-rise towers, enabling them to melt into the lush greenery. This is the opposite of the traditional approach of placing the buildings first.
In addition, the usage of compact high-rise towers made it possible to create a large amount of green space to the area. By aggregating numerous small plots of land and then building three skyscrapers on the site, Mori Building created a huge open space filled with greenery on the ground level. This is the basis of the Vertical Garden City concept that Mori Building has implemented across its iconic projects over the years, including ARK Hills, Roppongi Hills, and Toranomon Hills.
Azabudai Hills brings people closer to nature with some 320 diverse species of plants that transform the space at each season. An orchard of approximately 200 m² will be located on a sloping green space with 11 types of fruit trees, providing urban dwellers with the rare opportunity to witness nature’s wonder.
Public art installations throughout the complex create an urban space, in which art and nature blend seamlessly and people can visualize their connection with the natural world. Azabudai Hills Gallery will be the core cultural promotion facility in Azabudai Hills, a development based on the concept that the “entire city is a museum”.
Top architecture and design teams including Pelli Clarke & Partners and Heatherwick Studio came together to create a landmark that is distinctively Japanese on the one hand by tapping into local aesthetic, topographical, and seasonal elements, while offering a new framework of urban living focused on greenery, wellness and harmony with nature that has wider applications.
“Cities are among the greatest inventions of mankind and Azabudai Hills has propelled their evolution forward dramatically, interweaving architecture, nature and community. Working directly with Mr. Minoru Mori and Mr. Shingo Tsuji, we have created an active, diverse and humane city-within-a-city,” said Fred Clarke, Co-Founder and Partner of Pelli Clarke & Partners. “With its citizens top of mind, Mori Building and the design team seek to contribute to the art and science of building our urban future. It is an honor for us to have shared their decades-long vision!”
“We were inspired to create a district that connects with people’s emotions in a different way,” said Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick Studio. “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. This is a joyful and unique public place for Tokyo, designed to be cherished for many years.”
Home for Leading Business and Global Institutions
Azabudai Hills has garnered support from partners who share the vision of Green & Wellness. Among these prestigious partners are the Keio University Center for Preventive Medicine; The British School in Tokyo, one of the largest international schools in the city center; Janu Tokyo, the world debut of Aman's sibling brand and the only hotel in the development; Aman Residences, Tokyo, delivering an entirely new standard of living with just 91 units offering the fully-serviced Aman branded lifestyle; the Tokyo Venture Capital Hub, bringing together over 70 Japanese venture capitals; around 150 retail stores, including world-class luxury brands; Azabudai Hills Market, which promotes authentic Japanese food culture; and the renowned MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless, previously located in Odaiba, Tokyo. Many of these exceptional establishments have opened in Azabudai Hills with additional facilities to open after December 2023.
Upcoming Launch schedule
- Late January 2024 - Azabudai Hills Market
- Early February 2024 - MORI Building Digital Art Museum: EPSON teamLab Borderless
- February 2024 - Janu Tokyo
- From February 2024 - Garden Plaza (luxury brands)
35 Years in the Making
The Azabudai Hills project began in 1989 with the establishment of the Council of Redeveloping Cities. The project site encompasses a long, narrow district, broken up by hills and valleys with a complex terrain. Prior to redevelopment, the fragmented district was populated with small, wooden houses and buildings that needed major infrastructure upgrades and urban function improvements.
Since then, Mori Building Co. worked in collaboration with some 300 landowners of diverse backgrounds for nearly 35 years to bring Azabudai Hills to life. The project received overwhelming support from landowners and local constituents. In 2017, the City Plan was approved, and construction began in August 2019.
“I am turning 99 years old this December and the Azabudai Hills project started when I was in my mid-60s. We took a thoughtful approach to make sure that everyone was on board with the new development plan. Once that was decided, it moved forward so quickly that it’s hard to believe that we are already at the finish line. Mori Building played an instrumental role in leading the redevelopment and making this unprecedented project a reality,” said Kenichi Magatani, Chair of the Azabudai Hills Urban Redevelopment Association.
“I have lived in this neighborhood for a long time, but I have never seen such a dynamic urban development project at the heart of the city. I am sure that people will be amazed by not just the spectacular high-rise towers, but also by its rich greenery, and the incredible amenities including markets and restaurants, retail shops, museums, medical center, and international school. I strongly believe that this revitalized neighborhood is something Tokyo and Japan can be proud of for decades to come,” said Magatani.
