Azabudai Hills
Luxury Urban Village in the Heart of Tokyo Hills
Azabudai Hills is a new contemporary architecture complex built in the vicinity of the Tokyo Tower, in Minato ward. It encompasses 3 high-rises, including Japan’s highest skyscraper as of 2023. A "village in the city," it is home to various facilities and luxury shops, and especially to the teamLab Bordeless Digital Art Museum.
20 years after the inauguration of the Roppongi Hills complex, Japanese real estate firm Mori Building is still working on changing Tokyo’s cityscape with the completion of 2 extensive projects in Minato ward at the end of 2023: Azabudai Hills and Toranomon Hills. The 2 complexes are only distant by 1,5 kilometers, and confusing them is easy as their concepts do feel similar: an ambitious and vertical contemporary architecture for an upscale place of living and shopping offer.
Azabudai Hills is, first and foremost, the new address of the teamLab Bordeless: MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM, that relocated from Odaiba to this underground location closer to the center of Tokyo.
The site was designed to be a multi-functional urban area, providing all the services that can be expected from a city, such as:
- Residential housing;
- Offices and collaborative workspaces;
- High-end hospitality offer by the Aman Group, that launched here a new line with their Janu Tokyo hotel;
- A preventive medicine center managed by Keio University;
- An international school "The British School in Tokyo";
- Various cultural facilities focusing on contemporary art;
- A fresh food market (fruits and vegetables, meat, cheese, etc.) and delicatessen;
- A shopping mall, the Garden Plaza, with luxury shops and restaurants; and,
- Several green spaces and stepped terraces.
The complex, spreading on an 8,1 hectares superficies, is the final result of a long-term redevelopment project of the hills of Azabudai, after 30 years of reflection and 4 years of work. What was once a quiet and hilly neighborhood, with traditional Japanese wooden homes, has become a new urban oasis and a hub where all kinds of people mingle, from local residents, to business-people, students and tourists.
Original contemporary architecture
Azabudai Hills was given a flair of its own as a "village within the city" thanks to the collaboration of several international and Japanese architecture firms, mainly:
- The American Pelli Clarke & Partners, in charge of designing the complex’s 3 towers, with the Mori JP Tower being Japan’s highest building (330 meters of altitude), until Nihonbashi’s Torch Tower’s scheduled achievement in 2027; and,
- The British Heatherwick Studio, in charge of creating the horizontal architecture, one of the characteristic features of the site.
The fluid and organic lines, spurring from the ground and reminding of Tokyo’s former natural hills never fail to entice a reaction. One can totally love it or hate it, whether one is sensitive to this kind of modern and dynamic architecture. Time is certainly necessary for the vegetation to grow and settle, and before it can soften the mineral aspects of the construction. However, enjoying the blooming of the early kawazu-zakura cherry trees 🌸 is already possible in February-March, as well as the ginkgo trees’ golden foliage at the end of November and early December.
Indoor, the complex is characterized by its volumes and sleek lines highlighted by a soft and refined lightning. Moving between the buildings and to the various entertainment spaces can be challenging however, and the structure sometimes feels like a labyrinth.
It is recommended to go to the 34F floor of the Mori JP Tower to reach an interesting observation platform on the city, with a direct view on the Tokyo Tower 🗼. You’ll probably have to take a drink at the Hills House Sky Room café if you want to admire the scenery for a longer time.
On a side note, one of Azabudai Hills’ terraces gives a direct access to the Shakaden Reiyukai temple, whose architecture also displays original contemporary features.