Second Tallest Building in Tokyo to Open this Month Toranomon Hills

Standing just one meter shorter than the 248-meter tall Midtown Tower in Roppongi Hills, Toranomon Hills is set to open June 11 and now occupies the second spot in the ‘tallest building in Tokyo’ race, standing 247 meters high.

The development has been billed as a new flagship for urban living, and features state-of-the-art anti-earthquake and disaster measures and a green space at the base of the building.

Both of the tallest buildings in Tokyo have 52 floors, and similar to the Midtown Tower housing retail space, residences, office space and the Ritz-Carlton hotel, Toranomon Hills will feature 24 shops and restaurants on its first three floors, 30 floors of offices, 10 floors of residences, and the Andaz Hotel by Hyatt with 164 rooms on floors 47–52.

To free up space on the ground level, the building contains a 14 km underground loop-road for street access and parking, amounting to a highly efficient five-floor space below ground. Toranomon Hills has been under development by Mori Building Co. since April 2011, and adds on to their extensive list of buildings including Roppongi Hills, Omotesando Hills, and Ark Hills.

Although the companies occupying Toranomon Hills have yet to be revealed, representatives of Mori Building Co. say they hope to bring in more global company headquarters to help promote and strengthen Japan’s international competitiveness.

The logo, according the the creator and art director, Yasuyuki Ikeda, represents the gateway that connects Japan to the rest of the world. The simplicity of the logo allows for many different interpretations, but the four straight lines may first evoke the Chinese character for gate. “We didn’t, however, want the logo to simply reflect the ‘gate’ character,” Ikeda says. “We also wanted it to stand for our hope for this place to generate new encounters, new values and stories between people.”