Tokyo Square Garden

A 24-story, 124-meter office tower completed in 2013 in Kyobashi, Chuo City, notable for its stacked green terraces and environmental design. Winner of the 57th BCS Award, directly connected underground to Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.

Use

Office tower

Area

Chuo City

Completed

2013

Floors

24 above ground, 4 below

Height

124 m

Developer

Tokyo Tatemono, Katakura Industries, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, et al.

Architect

Nikken Sekkei / Nihon Sekkei (concept design)

Stacked Greenery in the Heart of Kyobashi

A short walk from Ginza and Nihonbashi, in the Kyobashi 3-chome district of Chuo City, an office tower rises with green terraces layered across its facade. This is Tokyo Square Garden, completed in March 2013 with 24 floors above ground and four basement levels, reaching a height of approximately 124 meters. The building connects directly to Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line via an underground concourse.

The standout feature of the exterior is the sequence of planted terraces that climb from the lower floors upward, wrapping vegetation into the silhouette of the building as it rises. The concept design was led by a joint venture of Nikken Sekkei and Nihon Sekkei. The project was developed by a special purpose company that brought together Tokyo Tatemono, Katakura Industries, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, and other partners. The site had previously been held by Katakura Industries, and its redevelopment became part of Kyobashi’s gradual transformation into a contemporary office district.

Environmental Design and Openness to the City

The green terraces at Tokyo Square Garden serve a functional as well as visual purpose. The planted layers provide shade against summer sun and help moderate the microclimate around the building, complementing the tower’s broader energy-efficiency measures. The combination of passive environmental strategies and active building systems was recognized with the 57th BCS Award — one of Japan’s principal architecture and construction prizes — in the year following completion. The building also received a 2014 Good Design Award.

The lower levels offer more than office space. Retail occupies basement one through the third floor, while medical facilities and childcare support services are housed on the third through fifth floors, giving the complex a community dimension beyond its commercial function. The standard office floor spans approximately 3,465 square meters — a footprint suited to large-scale corporate tenants. The surrounding district connects seamlessly to Ginza, Nihonbashi, and Marunouchi, all within walking distance.

Kyobashi was historically a vital crossing point between Nihonbashi and Ginza, and today it continues to evolve as a dense urban office district. Tokyo Square Garden represents one approach to that evolution: an office building that treats greenery and environmental performance not as afterthoughts but as integral to how the building engages with the city around it.

Summary

Tokyo Square Garden was completed in 2013 with 24 floors above ground and a height of approximately 124 meters. Its stacked green terraces are the defining element of its exterior and reflect a commitment to environmental design that earned it the 57th BCS Award. Directly connected to Kyobashi Station underground, the building fits naturally into the pedestrian flow of central Tokyo. If you are walking between Nihonbashi and Ginza, it is worth pausing at street level to trace the greenery rising floor by floor against the Tokyo sky.

Related: JP Tower (KITTE) / Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower