Otemachi Place

Twin towers in Otemachi with a combined floor area of about 354,000 m² — a large complex born from chained urban renewal.

Use

Office tower

Area

Chiyoda City

Completed

2018

Floors

35 above ground, 3 below

Height

178 m

Total floor area

approx. 354,000 m²

Developer

NTT Urban Development / Urban Renaissance Agency

Architect

Nihon Sekkei & Obayashi

Two large buildings standing in Otemachi

Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo. In a corner of Japan’s foremost office district, a large mixed-use complex of two towers was completed in 2018. This is Otemachi Place. The development, undertaken by NTT Urban Development and the Urban Renaissance Agency, places a West Tower of 35 floors and a height of 178 meters facing an East Tower of 32 floors and 163 meters; together the two towers reach a combined floor area of about 354,000 square meters.

In height it yields to other supertall buildings of the city center, but in scale — that is, in total floor area — it ranks among the largest single developments in the Kanto region. That so much floor area is stacked onto the limited land of Otemachi clearly expresses the character of this project.

Chained urban renewal

Essential to discussing Otemachi Place is the redevelopment method known as “chained” renewal. Functions housed in an existing building are first moved to a nearby new building, and the vacated sites are then rebuilt in turn — a mechanism that updates the whole district without ever bringing it to a halt, and from which this block was born.

At its base, a pedestrian network connecting to the subway lines lets people move to and from the stations without getting wet in the rain. Threading the flow of workers three-dimensionally through underground and ground levels, while providing a plaza and greenery between the two towers, is also characteristic of today’s Otemachi.

Summary

Otemachi Place is a large office building completed in 2018, made up of the West and East towers, with a total floor area reaching about 354,000 square meters. Born within NTT Urban Development’s chained urban renewal, it has become a building that symbolizes the renewal of Otemachi through scale rather than height.

When you walk Otemachi, look not only at the height of each building but at the breadth of floor area spreading at your feet. You begin to see how much space the heart of Japanese business has stacked up.