Kanda Square

A 21-story, 121-meter office tower completed in February 2020 in Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda City. Developed by Sumitomo Corporation and designed by Nikken Sekkei.

Use

Office tower

Area

Chiyoda City

Completed

2020

Floors

21 above ground, 1 below

Height

121 m

Developer

Sumitomo Corporation

Architect

Nikken Sekkei

A Landmark at the Edge of Jimbocho

Between the bookshop district of Jimbocho and the moat-side greenery of Takebashi, Kanda Nishikicho has long been a quieter corner of central Tokyo. That changed in February 2020 when Kanda Square was completed: a 21-story, one-basement-level office tower rising approximately 121 meters above Chiyoda City. Sumitomo Corporation, which uses the building as its headquarters, developed the project; Nikken Sekkei provided the architectural design.

The lower floors accommodate retail and food-and-beverage tenants, adding foot traffic and street-level activity to a neighborhood that had little of either. From the upper office floors, views extend toward the Imperial Palace’s forests and the Takebashi junction—an unusually open panorama for a mid-city tower.

Renewing the Kanda Nishikicho Block

Before Kanda Square, Kanda Nishikicho was characterized by postwar low-rise and mid-rise office buildings, most several decades old. The redevelopment consolidated a fragmented block into a single high-rise footprint, freeing up public open space at street level. The result is a building that feels larger than its 21 stories suggest, partly because the surrounding street grid remains relatively unchanged.

Kanda itself carries a long commercial and intellectual history—its proximity to Jimbocho’s dense cluster of publishers and second-hand booksellers gives the neighborhood a distinct character that high-rise redevelopment has not entirely erased. Walking the streets around Kanda Square, the contrast between old and new Tokyo is immediately visible.

Summary

Kanda Square was completed in February 2020 as a 21-story, 121-meter office tower in Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda City. Developed by Sumitomo Corporation and designed by Nikken Sekkei, it anchors the company’s Tokyo headquarters and brings a renewed streetscape to the Kanda–Jimbocho corridor. The area’s mix of old bookshops and new towers makes it a rewarding walk for anyone curious about how Tokyo renews itself.