Page 18 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Tokyo

16  INTRODUCING T OK Y O

Architecture in Tokyo

Tokyoites have been obliged to rebuild their city so many times
that what meets the eye is a mishmash of architectural styles.
First impressions suggest chaos, but there is a dynamism,
perhaps even a hidden order, to Tokyo’s macramé of older
wood and mortar buildings and its hi-tech modernity. From
the splendid futu ristic creations of Odaiba (see p77) to the
triangulated rooftops and glass sheets of Tadao Ando’s 21_21
Design Sight in Roppongi (see pp70–71), visitors sense perpetual
renewal. In the midst of innovation are traditional structures,
but Tokyo’s heart, one suspects, is firmly in the future.
Prada Aoyama, the dazzling
creation of Jacques Herzog
Shinjuku Skyscraper District and Pierre de Meuron, has
Shinjuku district in Tokyo epitomizes the modern Japanese tinted, diamond-shaped
outer panels which reveal
urban labyrinth. Most skyscrapers are clustered to the west a stylish interior.
of Shinjuku Station. Built of materials such as aluminum,
steel, and concrete, the buildings use flexible-frame
technologies to withstand powerful earthquakes.
NTT Docomo Building, 800-ft
Tokyo Opera City Tower is an (240-m) high, holds the title of Tokyo Metropolitan
impressive 768-ft (234-m) high the tallest four-faced clock tower Government Building
octagonal buil ding with 54 floors. in the world. Two lacks the height
of its bigger namesake
but has similar post-
modernist angles.
Shinjuku Park Tower, with
its three casca ding towers,
designed by Kenzo Tange,
blends with the skyline.

Asahi Super Dry Hall, an St Mary’s Cathedral, an early Fuji-TV Building, another Kenzo
amusing cartoon-like building, Kenzo Tange masterpiece, is Tange creation and a signature
was built by French architect covered in sparkling sheets building of Odaiba, is a design
Philippe Starck in 1989 for the of stainless steel, designed to marvel of girders, sky corridors,
Asahi beer company. symbolize the light of Christ. and a titanium-clad sphere.

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