Omotesando Hills

Omotesando Hills (表参道ヒルズ, Omotesandō hiruzu) is a shopping complex in central Tokyo built in 2005, in a series of urban developments by Mori Building. It occupies a two hundred and fifty meter stretch of Omotesandō, a shopping and (previously) residential road in Aoyama. It was designed by Tadao Ando, and contains over 130 shops and 38 apartments.

Omotesando Hills
Interior of the shopping mall
Inside Omotesando Hills during Christmas season

The construction of Omotesando Hills, built at a cost of $330 million, has been marked by controversy.[1] The building replaced the Bauhaus-inspired Dōjunkai Aoyama Apartments, which had been built in 1927 after the 1923 Kantō earthquake.[2] The destruction of the apartments again raised questions about Japan's interest in preserving historic buildings. A small section of the old apartments is reconstructed in the South-East part of the new complex.[3]

Minoru Mori noted that there had been resistance from local landowners to the use of Ando as architect, saying that they were concerned that his buildings were too fashionable for the area.[4]

Regarding the construction, Ando said, "It's not Tadao Ando as an architect who has decided to rebuild and make shops, it was the owners themselves who wanted it to be new housing and to get some value with shops below. My task was how to do it in the best way.”[5]

References
  1. Rusling, Matthew (February 15, 2005). "Attention Avid Shoppers: A High-End Complex Opens Its Doors". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  2. "Omotesando Hills Project Page". Mori Building. January 19, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  3. "Dwellers bought off; ball to fall on Aoyama flats". The Japan Times. April 19, 2002. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  4. "The view from the Hills: Minoru Mori defends the Omotesando Hills development and reveals big plans for Tokyo". Metropolis. February 3, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  5. "Tadao Ando Interview". Icon Magazine. September 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-11-26. Retrieved 2007-03-11.

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