Arch. TETSUO HARADA

Plenary session: Supertall Compact City “ABENO HARUKAS”
Master Class : Design and Engineering of sky gardens on a super tall building

ABENO HARUKAS is the tallest building in Japan and one of the world’s tallest buildings directly over a railway terminal. It is a high-density urban complex incorporating a department store, art museum, college, clinic, office, hotel, observatory and roof top gardens above the railway terminal.

This “Super Tall Compact City” integrates the huge activities in sprawling cities into super tall buildings. Acting through the railway network, they can have an impact that is sufficient to reorganize not only the surrounding buildings but the entire urban region. The compact, railway based structures of such cities help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and provide a variety of services and information in a compact area. We believe that such cities will be able to stimulate intellectual and economic activities even amid population decline.

Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia in the CTBUH AWARD 2014 (regional Finalist)
MIPIM ASIA AWARD 2014 (Winner)
BCS Prize 2015 *BCS: Building Contractors Society
Urban Greening Award 2015 *Organization for Landscape and urban Infrastructure
JCD AWARD (Gold Prize) *JCD: Japan Commercial Environmental Design Association
The Prize of AIJ *AIJ: Architectural Institute of Japan

Born in Osaka, Japan 1961 / Graduated from Department of Architecture, Kyoto University, 1984 / M.Eng., Graduate School of Kyoto University, 1986 / Joined Takenaka Corporation, 1986/ Currently General Manager of Building Design Department of Takenaka Corporation in Osaka/ He teaches at Osaka University.

The projects that he designed and led, including HEP Five, Hilton West, as well as other cutting-edge commercial buildings, have been featured in various architectural magazines. In all of the buildings that he has designed, the connection of architecture with city and nature is the main theme. It is based on wisdom in Japanese traditional urban dwellings, as represented by “Machiya”, a highly sophisticated environmental architecture in high-density cities.