A NEW KIND OF MIXED-USE PRECINCT IN TOKYO: EXAMPLES OF AZABUDAI HILLS AND MIYASHITA PARK

Abstract

An account of two mixed-use development projects in Tokyo within the Japanese design context, from which lessons can be drawn and questions asked about applicability to the Australian context. Azabudai Hills in Minatu-Ku is Tokyo’s newest mixed-use development. The second project is Miyashita Park in the Shibuya-Ku district, in which Jackson Teece played a design role.

About the Authors

Damian Barker is the Managing Director at Jackson Teece. He has delivered significant projects both nationally and internationally, across a wide range of sectors. Damian has extensive experience in urban design and architecture, with specialist skills in Ecologically Sustainable Design (ESD).

Preface

Australian architects, landscape architects and urban designers are in high demand for consulting and design work in Asia, including Japan. One of their strengths is the understanding and design response they bring to different cultural and urban contexts. Another is their ability to collaborate easily across disciplines and within government, client and design frameworks. Yet another is the respect they have for the work of other designers.  Finally, we should recognise the creatively they bring to projects. All of which comes through in this article. The personal account of the two projects selected in this article, one in which the author’s company Jackson Teece played a role, are interesting. As well as being new additions to Tokyo’s constantly changing city-scape and urban fabric, they offer solutions to urban revitalisation in an extremely dense city where open space is a scarcity and activity in the public realm is in high demand, across the age spectrum. The author draws out some key lessons regarding design process and context.

Raeburn Chapman, Editor, Urban Design Review

The context

In an ever-changing city such as Tokyo the urban design framework differs in many ways from what we are used to in Australia. This is largely due to its density and status as one of the world’s most dynamic cities that is not reliant on its natural beauty alone. The threat of earthquakes and natural disasters is real, as are the impacts from pandemics. Residents live in close proximity with each other respectfully knowing that a disaster will require quick collective thinking and resourcefulness. Even in a city as dense as Tokyo there are nowhere near the issues around housing supply and cost that exist in Australian cities, despite central areas of housing in Tokyo being some of the most expensive in the world.

Tokyo is well known for its speed and success in delivering quality urban renewal projects. For the most part it comes from the well-honed relationship between public and private entities as well as the Japanese commercial culture that has an almost instinctive appreciation of the positioning of a development to meet a distinct market. Add in the ubiquitous respect and value placed on quality in every form and it is hard to imagine a poor outcome, even if the architecture is not to your taste. The ability for corporations to work with public authorities to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes is enviable. Much of the urban framework and building envelope for redevelopments such as Azabudai have been resolved with the planning authorities and community well before a ‘star’ architect such as Thomas Heatherwick gets anywhere near the project.

Azabudai Hills in Minatu-ku 

On my recent trip to Tokyo, I had the opportunity to visit Mori Building Company’s latest mixed-use precinct in Azabudai Hills District, which includes Pelli and Clarke’s latest tower, now the tallest in Japan, as its centrepiece. The surrounding mixed-use low-rise development is designed by Heatherwick Studio, with retail interiors by Sou Fujimoto. Planned as a ‘mixed use modern urban village”, it is rich in uses and activities including offices, residences, an Aman hotel, art galleries, a food market, restaurants and mostly high-end retail.

Importantly, Azabudai Hills is well integrated into the transit network, especially the subway. It is a transit-oriented development.

This precinct is expected to draw nearly 30 million visitors a year. When I visited in mid-March just after its opening, it was brimming with residents of Tokyo and tourists alike who evidently love a new urban playground to explore.

Conceived as a ‘city within a city’ one third of the entire site is parkland community space featuring 320 plant varieties.

Considerable attention has been placed on environmental sustainability with all sites powered with renewable resources. Mori Developments’ prior project at Roppongi Hills was just a taster for this ambitious mega complex which very much focuses on the affluent residents or travellers. The complex hosts many of fashion and retail brands, positioned over multiple levels that one would associate with an up-market precinct.

A senior Japanese development executive explained it to me as a ‘win-win’ where everyone’s objectives are met. Underlying this attitude is a general consensus that progress is positive and cities change and evolve to meet current demands. This attitude aligns with the temporary nature of much of Japanese traditional architecture constructed of timber.

In an urban renewal precinct such as Azabudai one cannot help be impressed by Mori Company Building’s development foresight, hiring some of the world’s best designers to work alongside each other on what is a relatively small site. The trained eye can easily discern where the work of one architect stops and the other starts – yet this adds to the interest and richness of the precinct. It focuses on a central park flanked by low rise retail buildings and landscapes designed by Heatherwick in what seems like the form of a Chinese dragon, but I am told that it references the geology of the precinct.

While Japan is a very conservative society there is a display of adventure and risk-taking in this project that comes with experience, capacity and financial might performing to the excited anticipation of the Tokyo community.

Miyashita Park in Shibuya-Ku: A four storey park

 

Visiting Azabudai Hills makes me reflect on one of our recent projects in Tokyo, Miyashita Park in Shibuya – Ku ward. Standing adjacent to the famous crossroads ‘scramble crossing’ the project spans two blocks of land alongside the Yamanote line, the Tokyo loop service, entering nearby Shibuya station which is one of the busiest train stations by volume in the world. Originally a disused park at ground level, located adjacent to one of the railway lines connecting with Shibuya, the area had fallen into decay and was occupied by homeless people.

Japanese authorities recently started accepting private sector companies to assist with redevelopment of public parklands such as Miyashita Park in Public and Private Partnership (PPP). This has led to the formation of successful public spaces for local and wider communities.

Miyashita Park was owned mainly by Shibuya City and partially by Tokyo Metropolitan Government prior to the redevelopment. In 2017 a decision to apply a 30-year leasehold with a private sector establishment, led to the selection of Mitsui Fudosan as the main developer/operator to undertake this mixed-use development.

Jackson Teece won a design competition to develop the building design including the arbour to transform this remnant landholding into a lineal complex with a rooftop public park accessible by moving through or up and over a youth-focused retail and food specialty shopping precinct.

 

On the Harajuku side is a Mitsui Sequence Hotel (Designed by Nikken Sekkei) which addresses the busy streets at ground level leading to Omtesandō. The hotel lobby located at the rooftop level of the retail complex has been fitted out with recycled materials from the original park, which is often the case in Tokyo. The entire building is approximately 330-metres long creating a multi-level link between two busy precincts, elevating the pedestrian to one of four levels to make the journey along external landscaped walkways. The path weaves in and out of the retail and food offerings or along the park which is covered by a defining arbour of steel hoops designed to carry flowering vines that will change with the seasons. The plants include jasmine, akebia, clematis and passion flower. The green rooftop park covers over 10,000 square metres with the south block and the north block integrated through a walkway over the road.

The Park is actively supported by cafes and spaces for a variety of events, a skateboard park, climbing walls, beach volley court and passive green open spaces.  It is accessible by numerous stairs and lifts via the three levels of retail or directly from ground level.

Miyashita Park by contrast with Azabudai Hills, is focused on youth culture as well as continuing the popular and modestly priced izakaya restaurants found in this precinct at ground level. Developed by Mitsui Fudosan who present the precinct as “a place for heartfelt human connections, connecting open air architecture and nature with a shopping precinct” where one can select from a wide range of unique food and fashion, including what seems to be an endless array of sneakers.

The park’s focus has been on sustainability, providing insulation for the building below reducing the need for servicing the building. This objective is reinforced by the external mall design further reducing energy loads, not only for the core building services, but also encouraging tenant facilities to be responsible for their refuse. The facility has the capacity to separate a recycle refuse into 20 categories. There are solar powered compacting trash cans and water recycling for irrigation and hand washing stands within the complex. In the event of an earthquake or disaster the entire facility becomes an evacuation site for this precinct. The complex has stockpiles of food, water, blankets in the event of such a calamity.

While smaller than Mori’s Azabudai development, Mitsui has recorded over 4 million visitors last financial year and its tenancies are fully occupied. Similarly, the hotel is achieving very high occupancy rates, particularly with younger Japanese visiting Tokyo. The building is the similar length and size as an aircraft carrier with a Mitsui hotel anchoring one end. The interior retail spaces are a raw, intentionally stripped-down aesthetic with exposed services, focusing on flexibility and easy access to allow tenancies to be showcased and allow pop up stores and a variety of uses. Located midway on an upper level a large window wall displays a dance studio where teenagers practice the latest moves to the enjoyment of the passing shoppers.

Entertainment Guide ‘Time Out’ highlights Miyashita Park as one of the best roof top gardens to visit in Tokyo. In March this year, the rooftop played host to a wine festival ‘Vin Park’ which included music, events and food. Following that could be skateboard competition. The value of open space encourages not missing an opportunity to squeeze all the value out of open space, and there is always something to do in a society where a full calendar of cultural and commercial festivals keeps residents and tourists engaged.

Conclusion

On a recent tour by a Property Council of Australia study group, a common question was ‘would something like this work in Australia?’ – not sure. Miyashita Park’s success is surely reliant on a high visitation rate and location – a stone’s throw from the famous ‘Scramble Crossing’ as well as the enthusiastic adoption by a younger demographic. These are crucial factors, however the underlying partnership by public and private entities is the real success story here. The cost of the public benefit is part of the development structure, as I am sure is the ongoing cost of maintaining its success. It is both instructive and a privilege to work in a society that values this relationship and understands the benefits that can be gained in a ‘win-win.’ relationship.

Acknowledgements

Design Architect (Miyashita Park): Jackson Teece (Damian Barker / Jun Sakaguchi)
Design Architect (Sequence Hotel): Nikken Sekkei
Executive Architect (both): Nikken Sekkei