53-yr old office conversion in Chiyoda-ku
Real estate developer Hulic Co., Ltd. has converted a 53 year old office building in Chiyoda-ku into a trendy shared apartment, office and event space. The building has been named ‘the c’ to represent the keywords behind the project, which were central, conversion, communication, culture and create.
Floors 3 to 9 have been converted into shared residential space, with a shared office space located on the 2nd floor. The top floor of the building has been turned into a shared lounge, theatre room and dining space for both residents and office workers. An event space was created in the building’s basement which can be rented out for events and meetings. The rooftop has an open terrace with wi-fi access.Read more
Scandal-ridden site in Shinjuku up for public auction
Due to the messy history behind this land, most people had given up on the thought of ever seeing this site redeveloped. However, the land is being put up for public auction on February 17, 2015, by the Tokyo Tax Office with a minimum bid set at 2.19 billion Yen (18.5 million USD).
The Shinjuku Building Incident
The site was once home to the Shinjuku Building - a 12-storey multi-tenant building built in 1983 and demolished in early 2011.Read more
Tokyo's plan to fireproof older neighbourhoods
Tokyo is pressing ahead with a 10-year plan to fireproof the older, densely packed neighbourhoods that dot the city.
January 17th marked the 20th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Many of the casualties were caused by fires spreading throughout tightly packed neighbourhoods of wooden homes. A fire that broke out after the quake in Kobe’s Nagata-ku burned for three days and destroyed 4,759 homes.
Suginami-ku
Just south of Asagaya Station in Suginami-ku is a neighbourhood of wooden homes built immediately after WWII. Many are located alongside small pathways and narrow roads not accessible by vehicles. Firetrucks cannot access many of the homes, which means fire can spread easily, placing residents at risk.
Under the Building Standards Act, when building a new home or altering an existing home alongside a narrow road, the land must be set back by 2 meters from the centre line of the road. Ideally all houses along the street would eventually do the same and the road would become 4 meters wide - enough to allow cars to pass through. However, many residents put flowerpots or park their cars on this setback portion of the road, rendering it useless.
In 2015, the local council plan to introduce regulations that would allow for the compulsory widening and levelling of roads. The land would not be purchased by the council, and landowners would not receive any compensation.Read more
Bottega Veneta joins fight to save Hotel Okura
Fashion and architecture go hand in hand, and pieces designed by some of the great designers can remain timeless for generations. Tomas Maier, the creative director of Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, is hoping to spread awareness of some of Japan’s modernist architecture that is at risk of being demolished and lost forever. Of particular interest in Maier's campaign is the Hotel Okura Tokyo, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi and completed in 1962, which is scheduled to close and be demolished later this year.Read more