JERDE | Roppongi Hills

Tokyo's urban condition of narrow streets, sprawling low-rise buildings and few parks did not offer its citizens a high quality of life. What's more, the horizontally oriented cityscape did not stack up against other international cities. Renowned developer Minoru Mori envisioned a mid-town district that would afford citizens a better lifestyle and become a cultural center attracting people from all over the world. That vision is Roppongi Hills, Japan's largest private real estate development.

Project Type

Mixed-Use, Residential, Retail, Office, TOD, Hospitality, Sustainability, Open/Public Space

Location

Tokyo, Japan

Size

28 Acres

Client

Mori Building Co., Ltd.

Executive Architect

Mori Biru

Services

Architecture, Planning

Awards

Award for Excellence: Asia Pacific, Urban Land Institute

Largest Private Development in Japan

Roppongi Hills is situated at the crossroads of Tokyo's many centers of influence, between the business districts, the municipal area, commercial and trading markets, and exclusive residential neighborhoods.

Among the project's achievements was extending Tokyo's vibrant downtown core district.

Roppongi Hills integrates a full range of uses, offices, a world-class museum, residential towers, a luxury hotel, cinema, retail, a subway station and restaurants into a walkable community. JERDE made it a community people would want to walk by knitting the high-volume buildings with wide pedestrian pathways and generous open spaces - a rare sight in the crowded city.

The Hillside is a 4-level podium transformed into a gentle descent to the park below.

The Hillside is enlivened by the terraces, many of which house restaurants, as well as the hosting of the museum entrance.

The West Walk is a 7-floor space connecting 3 buildings with a skylight-covered galleria forming a 'canyon' experience.

The Event Plaza is an outdoor urban multi-purpose entertainment space with a circular stage used for a wide range of free and paid events.

An Ever-Changing Project

Public art is kept fresh and is found throughout the project thanks to a partnership with the Museum of Modern Art in New York that was overseen by JERDE, while the project's central plaza is programmed with hundreds of events per year.

Keyakizaka Dori is a luxury shopping promenade that caters to a variety of both residents and tourists.

Roppongi Hills utilizes a variety of sustainable features, from technology-based to the abundance of gardens and other plant life found throughout the site.