…

Omotesando Hills

Architectural Design

Tadao Ando was appointed as the architect for the design of Omotesando Hills, giving primary consideration to the harmony of scenery and environment at historical Omotesando.
Plants and trees are placed on the rooftop proactively, and the height of the building is curtailed so that is the same as the Zelkova trees lining the avenue, by maximizing underground space and making effective use of it. The scenery of the Doujunkai Aoyama Apartment was engraved in people's memories, and he wanted to pass this on to the next generation. Consequently, it was regenerated as "Doujunkan".
Furthermore, the "spiral slope" positioned to enclose the atrium at the center of the building in a spiral shape is around the same gradient as the Ometesando hill, serving to connect the facility with the town as a "second Omotesando".

Comment from Tadao Ando

The Doujunkai apartment was built as part of the reconstruction plans following the Great Kanto Earthquake, and while the architecture was treasured and known as a superb communal dwelling project, what was even more important was the scenery that was produced by the apartments. People really took it to heart. What kind of form [I could use to preserve] this scenery became one of the main themes of the current reconstruction plans.
Restoring the apartments in their present condition was physically and economically impossible, but I considered the following two points as clues to connect with the city's memories. The first was to put the majority of the building volume underground, and make as much use as possible of the underground space, so that the height of the building would be below the Zelkova trees that line the boulevard. Another was to include the gently sloping avenue of Omotesando as it already existed as a public space within the building. I created a building facade that continued for around 250 meters along Omotesando Avenue. Each floor is structured by continuing the gentle slope of Omotesando Avenue, contributing to a new public urban space. I considered trees and plants on the rooftop, in a form that would connect the roof of the building with the Zelkova trees lining the avenue. My aim was to "regenerate" the Doujunkai apartment of Omotesando for the next era.

<Tadao Ando Profile>

Born in Osaka in 1941.Taught himself architecture, and established Tadao Ando Architect & Associates in 1969. He continues to propose concepts for architecture connected to the environment. His representative works include "Rokko Housing", the "Church of the Light", the "Pulitzer Art Foundation", and "Chichu Art Museum". He has been a guest lecturer at Yale, Columbia, and Harvard universities. He became a University of Tokyo professor in 1997, an emeritus professor in 2003, and a distinguished professor in 2005. His books include "Talking Architecture" and "A Succession of Defeats".

About OMOTESANDO HILLS TOP

EVENT&TOPIC

VIEW ALL
VIEW ALL

FEATURE

VIEW ALL
VIEW ALL

SHOP NEWS

VIEW ALL
VIEW ALL

HILLS LIFE DAILYExternal link

This content is machine translated by an automated translation system, so it may not be possible to provide a completely correct translation.
Please note.