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Toranomon-Azabudai Project and Toranomon Hills Area Project in Tokyo Precertified under LEED ND and WELL

Includes Tokyo’s First LEED ND Platinum Precertified Property and World’s Largest WELL Precertified Property
Toranomon-Azabudai Project and Toranomon Hills Area Project in Tokyo Precertified under LEED ND and WELL

Tokyo, May 24, 2021 — Mori Building Co., Ltd., Japan’s leading urban landscape developer, announced today that major redevelopments the company is undertaking in Tokyo have been precertified under the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and WELL (WELL Building Standard) rating systems that respectively certify environmentally friendly and efficient green buildings and people’s wellbeing.

The Toranomon-Azabudai Project and Toranomon Hills Area Project both received top Platinum-level LEED ND (Neighborhood Development, v.4) precertifications. The Toranomon-Azabudai and Toranomon Hills Area projects are respectively the first and second projects in Tokyo to be precertified Platinum in the ND category. LEED is the most widely used green-building rating system that evaluates and certifies buildings and cities worldwide for environmental performance in terms of water and energy efficiency, indoor environments and sustainable materials. LEED is managed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The A District of the Toranomon-Azabudai Project and the A-1 District of Toranomon Hills Station Tower (tentative name) received WELL (Core,v.2 Pilot) precertifications; the former is the world’s largest precertified property and the latter is Japan’s second largest precertified property. WELL is the world’s first performance- based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. WELL is also managed by the USGBC. Once completed, both projects are expected to obtain WELL Platinum certifications.

Toranomon-Azabudai Project
Credit: DBOX for Mori Building Co.
Toranomon Hills Area Project
Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC and also Green Business Certification Inc., which provides third- party credentialing and verification under the LEED, WELL and GRESB systems, said:

"Mori Building’s sustainability efforts and its LEED Platinum achievement are fine examples of how organizations can transform their communities by lowering carbon emissions, creating healthier environments and work towards a zero-carbon future. Through awarding advanced examples such as Mori building, we aspire to demonstrate how better buildings, better communities and better cities can help raise the living standard for all."

Mori Building, based on its philosophy of "Create cities, nurture cities," is committed to realizing a sustainable global society through the harmonious coexistence of cities and nature, low-carbon cities and truly enhanced health.

LEED ND Platinum Precertifications

The Toranomon-Azabudai Project was highly evaluated as a complex with diverse urban functions, a walkable urban center built with a central square, and also for its renewable-energy power supply. Toranomon Hills Station Tower was favorably assessed for its integration of public transportation, including the new subway station, and high-level energy efficiency.

In both projects, Mori Building’s emphasis on urban development in partnership with local landowners earned high marks in the ND category. Toranomon- Azabudai Project became Tokyo’s first project to earn a Platinum level in the ND category and Toranomon Hills Area Project quickly followed as the second such project. It is globally rare for complexes in urban business areas to receive Platinum-level precertification.

WELL Platinum Precertifications

The Toranomon-Azabudai Project’s A District and Toranomon Hills Station Tower (tentative name)’s A-1 District were highly evaluated as advanced urban redevelopments following the concept of each project, offering central squares with substantial greenery, indoor environments with excellent air quality through use of air conditioners equipped with high-performance filters, cafes serving healthful meals and layouts featuring central squares and elevated decks to promote exercise. Once completed, both projects are expected to obtain Platinum certifications.

The A District of the Toranomon-Azabudai Project is the world’s largest precertified property and the A-1 District of Toranomon Hills Station Tower (tentative name) is Japan’s second largest precertified property.

Central square in Toranomon-Azabudai Project (image)
Low-rise buildings with rooftop greenery in Toranomon -Azabudai Project (image)
Underground pedestrian walkway connecting subway station, Toranomon Hills Mori Tower and Toranomon Hills Business Tower
Oval Plaza at Toranomon Hills Mori Tower

About Mori Building

Mori Building is an innovative urban developer based in Tokyo. The company is committed to maximizing the magnetic power of cities by creating and nurturing safe, sustainable and cosmopolitan urban centers based on its unique Vertical Garden City concept of high-rise centers for business, education, leisure and residence. The concept is applied in the company’s many leading-edge projects, including ARK Hills, Roppongi Hills and Toranomon Hills in Tokyo and the Shanghai World Financial Center. Mori Building is also engaged in real estate leasing, project management and consultation. Please visit www.mori.co.jp/en.

Attachment: Toranomon-Azabudai Project

The Toranomon-Azabudai Project site lies adjacent to the ARK Hills complex at the midpoint between the Cultural Heart of Tokyo" (Roppongi Hills) and the "Global Business Center" (Toranomon Hills), in an area with both cultural and business personalities. Its vast 8.1-hectare site will be filled with lush greenery totaling 24,000m2 of green space, including a 6,000m2 central square. The complex will have a total floor area of 861,500m2, including 213,900m2 of office space, some 1,400 residential units and the A District Tower soaring 330 meters. The mixed-use site will be able to host some 20,000 employees and 3,500 residents as well as welcome 25–35 million visitors annually, which is comparable in size to Roppongi Hills. This project will constitute the "Hills of the future" by utilizing past experiences in the Hills-series of redevelopments.

Green & Wellness for enhanced lifestyles in a "Modern Urban Village"

The concept of the project is a "Modern Urban Village," a huge open space filled with lush greenery, bringing people closer together. The two pillars of this concept are "Green & Wellness." Overwhelmingly verdant, a diverse community will assemble in an environment that is in harmony with nature, forming a new community where people can achieve harmony with nature as well as connect with and inspire others through creativity.

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. Proper locations were then considered for three high-rise towers 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 among the entire site—including the low-rise rooftops of podium buildings—we will manage to produce a 24,000m2 green space including a 6,000 m2 central square in the heart of this city. A relaxing atmosphere full of nature will be created in a seamless urban oasis filled with trees, flowers and waterscapes, which will also alleviate the heat island phenomenon in the central area.

All 100% of the electricity supplied to the entire neighborhood will be renewable electricity, which will meet the targets stipulated in the RE100 international environmental initiative led by the UK’s Climate Group. The project will adopt technologies for high-level, large-scale energy efficiency and will support efforts by users of the city to decarbonize.

In collaboration with Keio University, a core medical facility will be linked through a membership program with a spa, fitness clubs, a food market, restaurants, a central square and vegetable gardens. Working with external facilities and medical institutions, the project envisages an urban environment allowing all those living and working in it to enjoy "wellness." Certification of these and other wellness attributes will be pursued under Japan’s CASBEE-WO (Wellness Office) system. The Toranomon-Azabudai Project will introduce solutions to address various modern-world issues, including low-carbon cities, biodiversity preservation and truly enhanced health.

Toranomon-Azabudai Project
Credit: DBOX for Mori Building Co.
Pillars of the "Green & Wellness" concept
A city where various aspects of people's lives will be connected seamlessly

The Toranomon-Azabudai Project will result in an urban environment where various aspects of people’s lives— working, living, relaxing, getting together, learning, playing—will be seamlessly connected. Rather than designing the city around facilities such as offices, residences and hotels, Mori Building is approaching this development from the perspective of human activity by removing the barriers between facilities. Here, various facilities will interact and collaborate, offering people the opportunity of totally new lifestyles; a place where people can spend their lives in harmony with nature, where they will meet and live in a community, and where they can live creative and stimulating lives. The entire city, full of greenery, will become a place of learning, a workplace, a home, and a playground.

Project Overview
Project name: Toranomon-Azabudai District Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Project
Project executor: Toranomon-Azabudai District Urban Redevelopment Association
Site area: Approx. 8.1 hectares
Landscaped area: Approx. 63,900 square meters
Total floor area: Approx. 861,500 square meters
Buildings: Residences (1,400 units), offices (approx. 213,900 m2), retail facilities (approx. 150 shops), hotel (approx. 120 rooms), international school (approx. 14,000 m2, British School in Tokyo (planned)), central square (approx. 6,000 m2), and cultural facilities (approx. 9,000 m2), center for preventive medicine (approx. 3,600 m2)
Greenery: Approx. 2.4 hectares
Parking: Approx. 1,880 spaces
Project cost: Approx. JPY 580 billion
Construction start: August 2019
Planned completion: March 2023
Site Plan
Cross Section Plan

Attachment 2: Toranomon Hills Area Project

Toranomon Hills Business Tower, the second project in the expanding and evolving Toranomon Hills complex following Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, was completed in 2020. Eventually, the Toranomon Hills complex will grow to 7.5 hectares and a total floor space of 800,000 m2, including Toranomon Hills Residential Tower to be completed in January 2022, and Toranomon Hills Station Tower (tentative name) to be completed in July 2023, the latter to be integrated with Toranomon Hills Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Subway Line. As a mixed- use urban complex closely integrated with local transportation infrastructure, the Toranomon Hills complex will have a major impact comparable to that of Mori Building’s Roppongi Hills.

Green belt connecting Toranomon Hills Area and beyond

Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, completed in 2014, utilizes a multi-level road system including a building over Loop Road No. 2 (between Shinbashi and Toranomon). As an urban redevelopment project implemented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the project involves a large-scale space of approximately 6,000 m2. Available spaces are utilized for rich greenery, such as the Oval Square roof garden and the Step Garden on building terraces. The combined greenery, streams and biodiversity measures have received a top-ranking "AAA" JHEP (Japan Habitat Evaluation and Certification Program) certification from the Ecosystem Conservation Society-Japan. The spaces are also used by office workers and local residents for community activities such as group yoga.

The Business Tower, which was completed in 2020, boasts the artfully landscaped 1,500 m2 Seio Park. Together with the Residential Tower scheduled for completion in 2022, the combined area will feature greenery throughout the lower exterior layers. More broadly, this will form part of a green belt that also connects with Atagoyama and Atago Green Hills, thereby serving as a green belt connecting the extended urban area.

Seio Park
Toranomon Hills Business Tower
Oval Square
Toranomon Hills Mori Tower
Step Garden
Toranomon Hills Mori Tower
High energy efficiency for reduced environmental impact

Energy is used efficiently in the Toranomon Hills complex for reduced environmental impact. Toranomon Hills Mori Tower incorporates renewable energy sources and both energy-saving and resource-saving measures for lighting and air conditioning. Other systems include solar-power equipment in Oval Plaza, full LED lighting in office areas and high-efficiency air conditioning based on Low-carbon Building and Area Sustainability (LOBAS) systems that utilize medium-temperature cold water and large-scale heat storage tanks. In 2019, the project was certified as an "Outstanding Specified Global Warming Countermeasure Office (Top-level Facility)" by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In addition, the project has also obtained a top "S" rating under the CASBEE (for New Construction) comprehensive performance-evaluation system for building environments.

Toranomon Hills Business Tower incorporates numerous features to minimize the building’s overall environmental impact, including a cogeneration system for efficient use of energy, deep eaves on each floor to reduce heat load, and green rooftops and exterior wall surfaces to suppress the heat-island phenomenon.

Gateway to Tokyo: Connecting central Tokyo with the world

A bus terminal measuring some 1,000m2 on the first floor of Toranomon Hills Business Tower is directly accessible on foot to Toranomon Hills Station on the Hibiya Subway Line and Toranomon Station on the Ginza Subway Line. The terminal serves as a key departure/arrival point for airport limousine buses and the Bus Rapid Transit service to/from Tokyo’s waterfront. When Loop Road No. 2 is fully opened, access to Haneda Airport will be easier than ever before.

Toranomon Hills Business Tower features an underground barrier-free pedestrian walkway that connects with Toranomon Station on the Ginza Subway Line and Toranomon Hills Station on the Hibiya Subway Line. Additionally, a pedestrian deck connects with Toranomon Hills Mori Tower. In the future, the deck will also connect with Toranomon Hills Residential Tower and Toranomon Hills Station Tower (tentative name), making pedestrian accessibility within the Toranomon Hills complex exceptionally easy. Together with Shintora-dori Avenue, the expansive pedestrian network integrates the entire area in and around Toranomon Hills, further strengthening the role of Toranomon Hills complex as Tokyo’s newest gateway connecting central Tokyo with the world.

Project overview
Site area: Approx. 7.5 hectares
Total floor area: Approx. 800,000 square meters
Office area: Approx. 300,000 square meters
Residences: Approx. 720
Commercial area: Approx. 26,000 square meters
Green area: Approx. 15,000 square meters
Site Plan
Cross-section Plan

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