Art 4 Architecture: Tokyo Sky Tree 634m Height

Obayashi built the number one tower in the world!

Tokyo Sky Tree® has appeared in the Narihirabashi/Oshiage area of Sumida Ward, Tokyo in 2012. Boasting a height of 634m, the tower is one of the world's tallest.The construction posed a substantial technical challenge, and Obayashi was utilizing a number of proprietary technologies in the construction of this new global landmark.

Project outline

Name: Tokyo Sky Tree
Location: 1-chome Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Site area: Approx. 36,900m² (tower plus the East and West districts)
Height: 634m
Building type: Observatory (first at 350m; second at 450m)
Structure: Steel, steel-reinforced concrete, and reinforced concrete
Foundation work: Cast-in-place concrete piles and underground continuous wall piles
Commencement of work: July 2008
Completion: February 2012
Client: Tobu Tower Sky Tree Co., Ltd.
Architect: Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
Constructor: Obayashi Corporation

Overview of Facilities

Construction Technologies

Slipform Construction

The tower has a central-pillar structure, similar to that of a five-story pagoda. Obayashi built a group of 400 m steel-reinforced concrete central pillars at the core of the tower's steel frame.
Slipform construction is a method of efficiently constructing towering structures safely and with high precision in a short period of time by continuously placing concrete into formwork that is raised progressively upward with jacks. Special expertise is required for managing the speed and accuracy of formwork elevation, concrete mixing and pouring, and other specifications.
Obayashi is continuously improving the method and has an extensive track record constructing smokestacks and other structures exceeding 200 m in height.

Knuckle Walls

The tower's foundation is subjected to strong uplift and compressive forces from winds, earthquakes, and other factors.
The "knuckle walls" developed by Obayashi are wall-shaped piles with nodular protuberances. These nodules solidly anchor the piles in the ground and substantially increase their load-bearing capacity.
Additionally, knuckle walls are highly rigid by virtue of their shape, making them highly resistant to horizontal seismic forces.
Knuckle walls robustly fortify the foundations of ultra-tall structures such as Tokyo Sky Tree.

Color Design

A "White Tower" transcending time sends messages as a friendly future city

TOKYO SKYTREE is designed in an original color, "SKYTREE White", representing harmony with the surrounding scenery, its name and the design concept: "The creation of city scenery transcending time: A fusion of traditional Japanese beauty and neo-futuristic design".

SKYTREE White

It is an original color based on "aijiro", the lightest shade of Japanese traditional indigo blue. The color of SKYTREE also replicates the technique of indigo dyers, with a hint of blue added to the white color, giving a delicate pale blue glow, like that of white celadon ware.
Colors created by indigo dyers represent the legacy of Japanese traditional craftsmanship as conserved in the downtown area housing the tower. Encounter the tower and this artisan culture will become the starting point for the creation of a new culture.
Dressed in "SKYTREE white", the new tower will stand tall against the blue sky in downtown Tokyo and transcend time with eternal brightness.

Lighting Design

May the light connect the past and future, and reach the hearts of people.

There are 2 lighting styles. "Iki", the spirit of Edo, and "Miyabi", its aesthetics, that operate alternately. They express the concept that 'today' is connected to 'tomorrow', and, beyond tomorrow expands the 'future'. The incorporation of designs inheriting Edo scenery reflects the history and culture of Shitamachi, the downtown area.

: For more on "Iki", please click here.

: For more on "Miyabi", please click here.

Crown of Light: Lights at the top of the tower and on both sides of the two observation decks; illuminating its steel structure and gradually merging into the ground at the base of the tower resemble the image of Mount Fuji, the primal scenery of Edo.
A Light that Marks the Passage of Time: Shining like a meteor over the Observation Decks, the light that shines around at a steady speed represents light that marks the passage of time, connecting past and future.
Illumination on the Steel Structure: Lights illuminating the top of the tower reach strongly out to the sky and expand bravely towards space as if they were our dreams and hopes. Illumination on the structure emphasizes the beauty of the curves and camber of the tower.

All LED Harmonizes with the Neighborhood and is Environmentally-friendly

The concept of the design is based on Japanese aesthetics, incorporating history and the local downtown features, but at the same time, a plan representative of the present age. It was also designed to have the beauty of shades expressed in the form of an environmentally-friendly lighting system. Thus the plan adopted a design using all-LED lights to save energy, which also realized beauty at the same time.
The realization of an All-LED lighting system not only enabled outstanding staging effects but its energy saving feature made the tower a messenger of an eco-friendly structure.

About Lighting Equipment

: "EVERLEDS TOKYO SKYTREE & LED PROJECT" Panasonic Corporation

Highest Point: 634m

Decision of the Height of 634m

The height of the TOKYO SKYTREE was originally specified at approximately 610m in the original project. However, it was planned from the beginning to be the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower. After careful discussion and research on high-rise buildings that are being built around the world, it was finally decided on 634m, to become the tallest free-standing broadcasting tower in the world.
Thus, the 634m-high TOKYO SKYTREE was recognized by the Guinness World Records Company on November 17, 2011 as the tallest tower in the world.

Impressive Figures

The decision on the figure "634" for the height was based on the concept of choosing a figure that would be easy for everyone to remember with the world's tallest tower that has also become a symbol of the area.
The sound of the number "634" when read in old Japanese numbers is "mu-sa-shi", which reminds Japanese people of Musashi Province of the past, that used to cover a large area, including Tokyo, Saitama and part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Historically speaking, the area where the TOKYO SKYTREE stands belonged to Musashi Province. From the Observation Decks, the landscape of the old Musashi Province spreads out before you and reminds visitors of the locality and history of the area lying east of Tokyo, i.e. east of old Edo.
We believe that the use of a familiar figure for the height of the TOKYO SKYTREE will make it easier for everyone to remember.

A new Tokyo Tower - 'Tokyo Sky Tree', Japan's tallest man-made structure!
Tokyo Sky Tree is expected to soar 2003 feet (610 meters) into the sky over Japan's capitol city by late 2011, making it the nation's tallest man-made structure and, at least for a time, the world's.

On June 10, 2008, the new tower's official name "Tokyo Sky Tree" was announced. Approximately 33,000 out of 110,000 people participating in a Name The Tower contest voted for the name with five other possible names in the final listing receiving fewer votes.

Tokyo Sky Tree will be the centerpiece of a massive new commercial development located in the area of what is now Oshiage Station in Tokyo's Sumida ward.
A consortium of six Japanese broadcast companies led by national network NHK proposed and planned the tower, which is expected to be completed in December of 2011.

Considering Japan's reputation as a country prone to large earthquakes, the new tower will incorporate the latest seismic engineering techniques but will also recall the balanced construction of Kyoto's five-level pagoda that has stood firm for centuries. The tower will gradually change in cross-section from triangular at the base to round at the 1,000 ft point, the better to withstand strong winds.
It is also designed to have a pleasing appearance inspired by Samurai swords (hey, there's a name... the Katana!) that will not clash with traditional Japanese architecture - not that there's much of that left in Tokyo these days.
Now yes, there already IS a Tokyo Tower and it's been a city landmark since opening in 1958. Based stylistically on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, "Tokyo Tower" stands 1,093 feet (333 meters) tall... very respectable in the Fabulous Fifties but insufficient to meet the needs of today's electronically advanced society.
Besides that, Tokyo's modern skyline is dominated by skyscrapers which interfere with signals beamed to and from the now not-so-towering "old" Tokyo Tower.

How do we know it's Japanese? It has a face!
A quote from Tokyo Sky Tree's official website typifies the natural enthusiasm and disarming honesty so often found in Japan and Japanese: "This is a new 2nd broadcasting tower in Japan and will be the tallest broadcasting-tower (Wow! 610 meter / 2000ft) in the world, if the construction is completed successfully." That's a big "if"... c'mon guys, show a little confidence!

Blog: Muza-chan's Gate to Japan - 20 Ιούλιος 2010

By: Muza-chan

About 11 months ago, I was writing about the construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree tower. Yesterday, I went again to visit the construction site, to see how the work progressed.
Well, 2 years after the start of construction, the progress is simply amazing:

The tower will soon surpass the height of 400 meters, and it is already difficult to look up directly beneath it…
Click on photo for higher resolution:

Tokyo Sky Tree, Sumida, Tokyo, July 2010

…and it will still rise with over 230 meters, until it will reach the height of 634 meters!
More precisely, as we can see on the construction billboard, the Tokyo Sky Tree is right now 398 meters tall:

This means that the first observatory, which is located at the height of 350 meters, is already assembled… and looking up, we can see that this is where the work is done right now:
Click on photo for higher resolution: