Imagine the clean, graceful lines of office and residential blocks, stretching up to the sky, with sublime temple structures and lush gardens situated between them. That is Atago Green Hills, selected as a 2003 winner of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Awards for Excellence during the InstituteÕs recent annual fall meeting in San Francisco and honored today during a press conference cohosted by Minoru Mori, president and CEO of Mori Building Company, Ltd., in conjunction with ULI's sixth annual real estate conference in Japan.

The ULI's annual awards competition is widely recognized as the land use industry's most prestigious recognition program. Now in its 25th year, the Awards for Excellence program is based on ULI's guiding principle that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded.

Atago Green Hills was one of ten winners chosen from 26 finalists, narrowed down from a field of 109 entries. The 3.8-hectare mixed-use project in Atagoyama, in Minato Ward, was completed by nine partners over two decades. With the aesthetics of old and new existing side-by-side, this new concept in urban space seamlessly fuses the wooded groves of TokyoÕs Mount Atago and three Buddhist temples - all more than 300 years old - with Atago Forest Tower, a 352-unit residential tower; the 52,378-square-meter Mori Tower office building; a retail plaza, a television broadcasting museum and a printing factory. In selecting Atago Green Hills for an Award of Excellence, the ULI noted the project's success in replacing urban sprawl with a compact, "vertical garden city."

Living in the Sky

"When we began planning Atago Green Hills, people viewed cities differently than the way that they do today," said Kazuhiko Yamamoto, executive vice president of Mori Building Company and chairman of ULI Japan. "This said, even then we had an integral view of urban development. The business centers of tomorrow will not be like the conglomerations of buildings one sees in the Maunouchi district of Tokyo, once the cityÕs business center. We united history, tradition, modern structures and restful green spaces at Atago Green Hills under the theme of "Unity and Harmony." To transform Tokyo into an internationally competitive city, it will be essential to create environments like this in which people really want to live, work and play."

An Unparalleled Quality of Life

Atago Green Hills perfectly embodies the Mori Building Company concept of locating work and living spaces in close proximity to each other, enhanced by the beauty of nature. By fusing the functions of the city into a single complex, residents and visitors alike enjoy an unparalleled quality of life.

The design of the Atago Forest Tower was supervised by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, who maximized the use of natural materials in a sophisticated yet comfortable style. Residents relax in luxury amid quality furniture and tasteful interiors, secure in the knowledge that 24-hour, bilingual concierge service is ready to attend to all aspects of daily living.

The Atago Forest Tower's bilingual "Health Promotion Service" helps residents stay in peak condition, from fitness and well-being services to full medical support provided by doctors working in conjunction with the adjacent Jikei University Hospital.

At the Green Hills Spa, residents can swim in a three-lane, 16-meter pool, relax in the sauna or cold bath, enjoy the latest spa services and treatments - all with penthouse-level panoramic views of the city.
All the structures in Atago Green Hills are equipped with state-of-the-art earthquake-resistance and safety features, including built-in early warning disaster systems.
A closed circuit TV system combined with round-the-clock monitoring by staff provides the tightest possible security.

Perhaps most importantly, Atago Green Hills not only incorporates gracious high-rise living, but it capitalizes on its natural setting, preserving 5,800-square-meters of woods on Mt. Atago. In fact, nearly half the total project area is dedicated to greenery and a public park.

Tokyo: The Global City

Mori's determination and vision is already having a profound impact. Since the completion of the Atago Green Hills project, some of the traditional, problematic land use policies in Tokyo have been changed, including a new requirement that future developments set aside at least 20% of building area to greenery.

And with the successful completion of award-winning developments like Atago Green Hills, Mori continues to press forward, particularly with his latest urban center, Roppongi Hills. A "city within the city," Roppongi Hills is the ultimate expression of MoriÕs vision of rebuilding Tokyo into a world-class city, a compelling global destination for the worldÕs leaders and a more enjoyable, vibrant urban living space for Japanese.

"I still have not reached the point where I want to be, but over the latter part of my career, I have tackled work with the belief that Tokyo is not inferior to other cities in the area of urban environment. My aim is globalization - not in the sense of incorporating what's foreign, but in the sense of welcoming people from abroad. This approach is finally beginning to be realized. People are coming to recognize that Japan is not just a place you travel to but a place in which you are welcome."

The Urban Land Institute, located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance the total environment. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 20,000 members in 50 states and 52 countries representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.

Mori Building Company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and has been the leader in creating cutting-edge, multi-use urban developments. Mori is Japan's largest commercial urban developer and real estate operator. The company was founded in 1959 and currently includes urban development and the planning, design supervision, operation and management of office, residential, commercial, hotel and other cultural and entertainment facilities under its scope of business. The company operates more than one hundred office buildings in Japan along with two thousand housing units and high-profile shopping centers. MORI LIVING is the company's lifestyle brand.

For more information on Atago Green Hills, please visit the company's websites, www.mori.co.jp or www.moriliving.com.