Seizon Tower


500m2, Mixed-Use Tower, Shibuya-ku,Tokyo


Will Galloway, Koen Klinkers, Mieko Watanabe, Christopher Sjoberg, Joris Berkhout, Erez Golani Solomon, Daniel Yu, Misuzu Yoshikawa, Quentin Giraud, Maxime Agred, Andrea Belosi

Engineer: Structured Environment
Landscape: Atelier Anonymous
Construction: TH-1


In the 1970s Tokyo was a city under pressure. Constant construction and growth changed an already large city into a mega-city. Many residents were born in the countryside and found the chaos of Tokyo difficult to reconcile with a quality life. Architects from this time responded with quiet urban retreats that shut out the city around them. That point of view is no longer the norm. One of the benefits of density in 21st century Tokyo is that the entire city is claimed as part of daily life. Very little is off limits. The only question is how much to engage with the surrounding landscape. Because the city itself is the amenity that attracts people to an area the logical choice is to invert the city/building relationship; shrinking its footprint, opening to the urban landscape, and inviting activity to the interior.

The Seizon building is on a very small site, and the first project in Tokyo to take advantage of new regulations promoting residential use in commercial districts. The slim building is a kind of mini tower, a mixed-use building, composed of four small blocks stacked on top of each other, bound by a simple design language. Each section has its own structure and relation to the city.

Double height studio apartments are located below ground to take advantage of the privacy their location affords. Designed for young professionals who use their rooms mostly as a place to sleep, this is a perfect location. Offices and shops occupy the first and second floors, extensions of the street landscape around them. A cantilevered staircase leads directly to a community space on the third floor that floats over the city, while a private residence completes the stack, with direct access to an elevated garden and views to Shibuya and the city beyond.

Located behind famed Omotesando Crossing, Tokyo is willfully included in the design, extending the urban landscape to the back of the site, giving residents the chance to engage with their surroundings and directly take advantage of the community around them. The design assumes the location is not only valuable for its proximity to subway lines and to convenience, but that the city itself is an engaging landscape that should be embraced. In the urban age this is a logical next step. .