In Tokyo's Chūō ward, construction has commenced on the exterior and primary public spaces of the Y2 Project, designed by New Haven, Conn.-based architecture studio Pickard Chilton
The Y2 Project is a mixed-use high-rise managed by Tokyo-based real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan. The development of the property also involves Tokyo-based architectural/engineering practice Nihon Sekkei, and general contractor Takenaka Corporation.
The project is located near the Yaesu South entrance of historic Tokyo Station and includes a 297,000-square-meter (3.3-million-square-foot) mixed-use skyscraper. The building will include offices and a Bulgari Hotel, along with an elementary school atop a retail podium and a below-grade transportation hub. It will have direct access to Tokyo Station.
Pickard Chilton's design includes a gently curved façade for the 240-meter (787-foot) tower that distinguishes it from neighboring buildings. The curved façade evokes the image of a billowing sail and is inspired by the site's original location on a canal which served as an outer moat of the Edo Castle. At the northwest corner, the tower will engage the ground to emphasize its verticality and to clearly identify the main entry. From the below-grade levels of Tokyo Station, visitors will rise through a cascade of escalators, through the podium retail levels, to a podium roof terrace overlooking Yaesu Granroof. The design also includes green spaces.
The Y2 Project is scheduled to be completed in 2022.