Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Lighting Design/Product Company Illumination of City Environment
Lead Designers Masanobu Takeishi
Other Designer's names Hiroshi Inoue, Keiichi Nishiguchi(KUME SEKKEI Co.,Ltd.) Yuko Nagayama (YUKO NAGAYAMA & ASSOCIATES)
Architecture Company KUME SEKKEI Co.,Ltd. / YUKO NAGAYAMA & ASSOCIATES
Client TOKYU CORPORATION / TOKYU RECREATION CO.,LTD.
Photo Credits Photo 1,2,6~8 Nacása & Partners Inc. /Photo 3~5 Fumito Suzuki photo studio K.K.
Completion Date April 2023
Project Location Tokyo, Japan
Entry DescriptionIn Kabukicho, Tokyo, a new skyscraper housing a hotel and entertainment facilities is built. The architect inherited the historical presence of water in the historical context of this place as a fountain and planned the exterior of the building with the image of the energy flowing at the roots of this city reaching up to the sky like a fountain. Also, in addition to the factor as a landmark with outstanding height that can be viewed from various directions, it was also required to express the feature of a facility devoted to entertainment with lighting design.
The lighting plan involves 2,800 full-color LED point light sources of about 1W, placed at the top and middle of the 225m-high building to ensure brightness and visual impact from mid- and long-distance views. Each LED is addressed to enable the movement of light like a fountain, rain, or wave. Combining colors and light movements, 16 preset patterns are utilized to create a night facade that can be changed with the seasons and events. Lighting fixtures are installed inside for easier maintenance, rather than outside. Meanwhile, an aluminum-cast facade with a traditional Japanese wave motif, called seigaiha, was planned for the base of the building.The design of the aluminum casting considering the way it receives light and the extremely narrow angle of the upward light creates a sparkling effect.
Sustainability ApproachThe architecture has the element of a landmark that attracts the eye from various directions. Instead of illuminating the entire building, we concentrated the LED lights of only about 1W at the tops of the mid-rise and high-rise and the light was set in motion to create the shimmering of water and other effects. The lighting was planned to be visible from a distance even in the brightly lit downtown area, while using a minimum of energy.
The fixtures attached to the exterior of the building were designed to be accessible from the inside of the building, rather than the outside, to facilitate maintenance.
A nighttime facade as if created to reflect the town's activity by changing the brightness, which also helps reduce energy consumption.
