Construction of a sprawling new property development for Mori Building Co. in central Tokyo, which will house Japan's tallest skyscraper at around 330 meters when completed in 2023, finally kicked off earlier this month after three decades of negotiations with landlords.
A key figure behind the project, the blueprint for which was revealed Thursday, is Thomas Heatherwick, a British designer who some have dubbed the "Leonardo da Vinci of our times" for his wide variety of imaginative creations.
This time around, together with the Japanese urban developer known for such projects as Roppongi Hills and Toranomon Hills, Heatherwick is proposing an infusion of nature into the middle of Tokyo's concrete jungle to enrich the quality of people's lives in the busy urban space.