Azabudai Hills

Azabudai Hills is a completely new urban development, unparalleled in terms of its development philosophy.
As technology advances, drastically changing ways of working and living, questions like "What should a future city be like?" and "What is the essence of a city?" abound. Mori Building has always believed that "the essence of a city exists within people living and working there." Our ideas have continued to evolve, and now our approach is completely centered on people, and urban environments as places where people live and work in vibrant and creative ways.
The concept of Azabudai Hills is a Modern Urban Village, a huge open space in the heart of Tokyo filled with lush greenery that brings people together to build a new community. The two pillars of the Modern Urban Village are "Green & Wellness," which support the formation of a diverse new community where people can enjoy genuine human lives in an overwhelmingly verdant environment in harmony with nature.

The two pillars of this "MODERN URBAN VILLAGE" are "GREEN" and "WELLNESS". A diverse new community is forming in an overwhelmingly verdant environment that is in harmony with nature, where people can genuinely live human lives.
Architectural planning of the project began with planning the flow of people and a seamless landscape with a central square at the heart of the city. Appropriate locations were then considered for three high-rise towers that would allow them to melt into the lush greenery. This is the opposite of the traditional approach of placing the buildings first and then filling in the rest of the space with greenery. By utilizing the topographical differences of the area, and providing greenery across the entire site – including the low-rise rooftops of podium buildings – we have managed to produce a 2.4ha green space, including the 6,000m² central square, in the heart of this city. A relaxing atmosphere full of nature has been created by realizing a seamless urban oasis filled with trees, flowers and waterscapes.
Furthermore, the entire city is promoting sustainability initiatives, such as decarbonization and the recycling of resources. 100% of the electricity supplied to the complex comes from renewable sources, meeting the targets set by the Renewable Energy 100% (RE100) international environmental initiative led by the UK's Climate Group.
Azabudai Hills is on track to receive a top-level Platinum certification in two categories under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating system – the Neighborhood Development category for mixed-use developments and the Building & Design/Core and Shell Development certification for newly constructed tenant buildings.

The Azabudai Hills site encompasses a long, narrow district running from east to west, originally broken up by hills and valleys in a convoluted terrain. The fragmented district was populated with small, old wooden houses and buildings, many of which were deteriorating. Overall the city infrastructure was in need of an upgrade.
The Council of Redeveloping Cities was established in 1989. Since then, in collaboration with some 300 landowners representing different positions and circumstances, the Toranomon-Azabudai area was discussed and planned over more than 30 years. In 2017, the City Plan was approved based on the Law of National Strategic Special Zones, and following approval of the establishment of Toranomon-Azabudai District Urban Redevelopment Association, construction began on August 5, 2019. It opened in November 24, 2023.

The Azabudai Hills site lies adjacent to the ARK Hills complex at the midpoint between Roppongi Hills, the "Cultural Heart of Tokyo," and Toranomon Hills, the "Global Business Center," in an area with both cultural and business personalities.
The vast 8.1-hectare area is a verdant urban oasis filled with 24,000m² of lush greenery, including its 6,000m² central square. The complex has a total floor area of 861,700m², including 214,500m² of office space, 1,400 residential units, and Mori JP Tower soaring to a height of 330 meters. This mixed-use complex is able to host some 20,000 employees and 3,500 residents, and is expected to welcome 30 million visitors per year.
Overall, Azabudai Hills is "a city within a city" and the "Hills of the future," leveraging the learnings and experiences of past Hills-series developments.

Although Azabudai Hills is well served by Sakurada-dori, Gaien-higashi-dori and Azabu-dori avenues on the area's perimeter, the original east-west roads were fragmented and the main north-south street, commonly known as Onemichi, did not merge with Gaien-higashi-dori, resulting in a highly inefficient traffic network that had plagued the area for decades.
With the development of Azabudai Hills, however, the long-held dream of an efficient road network has been realized through the creation and integration of east-west and north-south streets. In addition, construction of a barrier-free underground walkway connecting Roppongi-itchome station and Kamiyacho station has further improved circulation in the area and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Azabudai Hills is set to become an urban environment that seamlessly connects diverse aspects of human life, including living, working, gathering, relaxing, learning and recreation. As a result, it will provide a rich "Hills Life," allowing people to live in harmony with nature, forming a thriving community whose members can enjoy creative, stimulating lives. The entire complex, full of lush greenery, will become a place of learning, working, living and creating, with all facilities within walking distance.

As part of the Azabudai Hills' initiatives to strengthen the safety of urban infrastructure, Mori Building is making great efforts to create urban refuges that people can run to in the event of a disaster.
The three towers of Azabudai Hills incorporate earthquake-resistant features that will allow businesses to continue operating even in the event of an earthquake of the magnitude of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Mori JP Tower is also equipped with a co-generation system and district heating/cooling systems in its basement. Mori Building will be able to supply 100% of the electricity and heat required in the entire Azabudai Hills complex in the event of a disaster, using emergency generators. In addition, Azabudai Hills will have about 6,000m² of shelter that can temporarily accommodate up to 3,600 stranded people in the event of an emergency.

In terms of environmental impact, energy efficiency throughout the Azabudai Hills complex is optimized on a comprehensive basis through the use of zero-emission renewable energy. In addition, a high-efficiency energy center supplies energy to the entire Azabudai Hills complex, allowing the efficient management of this large complex's unique mixed-use energy consumption.
Furthermore, sewage heat, an underutilized renewable energy source, has been incorporated into the heating and cooling systems throughout Azabudai Hills. All electricity supplied to the entire neighborhood is generated from renewable sources, meeting the targets stipulated in the RE100 international environmental initiative led by the UK's Climate Group. The development is one of the world's largest sites to receive preliminary WELL certification, and has also earned LEED-ND and LEED-BD+C certifications. In collaboration with external facilities and medical institutions, Mori has created an urban environment enabling all those living and working there to enjoy true wellness.
In sum, Azabudai Hills has introduced a range of solutions to address modern-world issues, including decarbonization, biodiversity preservation, health enhancement and more.

At Azabudai Hills, which focuses on "Green & Wellness," Mori Building's approach has been based on the concept of making the "whole city as a museum." At the center of the overall facility is a museum and art gallery with a total space of around 9,300m². Public art installations are dotted throughout the area, in offices, residences, hotel lobbies and squares, creating a urban space where art and culture blend seamlessly.

Top global creators who were invited to join the Azabudai Hills project came together to refine the overall plan.
The appearance of the three skyscrapers was designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners (USA), who designed skyscrapers that became landmarks in many countries. They also designed Mori Building's Atago Green Hills and ARK Hills Sengokuyama Mori Tower in Tokyo. César Pelli, a founder of Pelli Clarke & Partners and a great architect, believed that individual architectural designs exist to make better cities, which closely matched the philosophy of Mori Building.

Public realm and lower-level architecture was created by Heatherwick Studio (UK) led by Thomas Heatherwick, a designer who has worked on many ingenious projects such as the Olympic Cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Azabudai Hills is the studio's first project in Japan to go into construction.

Under the strong leadership of Mori Building, these talented creators all over the world came together to realize a highly diverse yet harmoniously unified large-scale urban complex.