Tokyo’s new green skyscrapers designed by Ingenhoven Architects

Set on either side of Toranomon Hills Tower – Tokyo’s tallest building – the pair of skyscrapers by German studio Ingenhoven Architects are aesthetically similar and covered  in planting at the base, to help combat climate change. The taller one – 220-meter-high – contains 54 storeys of apartments; while the other – 185-meter-high – contains 36 storeys of office space. In total, the residential tower – the tallest in Japan – contains 550 housing units, a spa, a pool, a fitness center, and a childcare facility.

Ingenhoven Architects designed a series of terraces on the lower floors, at the base of each tower, which contain 154 trees, inspired by the green surrounding the nearby Atago Shrine. The two skyscrapers are also connected by bridges to create a greenery-covered first-floor podium and the lowest seven floors of the office building, as well as the eleventh floor of the residential building, are wrapped in hedgerows.

The studio wants “to give something back to the city by offering a green, publicly accessible plateau at the first above-ground level – a place of balance with zones of calm amid the rush of this large city”. “With every surface we use for construction we remove some of the earth’s biocapacity – no matter how sophisticated our buildings are,”  said Ingenhoven, and added: “More green in the city is a crucial part of the urban response to the increasing impacts of climate change. […] Green roofs and facades improve the microclimate of our cities – primarily by reducing the urban heat island effect and storing rainwater, but also absorbing carbon dioxide and dust, dampening noise, supporting biodiversity, and enhancing our overall well-being”.