Modern Meets Traditional at The National Stadium

Shinjuku City, located northwest of central Tokyo, is well-known as one of the city’s premier entertainment areas. Home to the world’s busiest station—Shinjuku Station—the bustling ward is filled with department stores, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and more, making it a memorable destination no matter the time of day. Apart from its thrilling nightlife, Shinjuku is also the location of Japan’s National Stadium.

Situated on the ward’s southern border and beside the massive Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the National Stadium is a multi-purpose facility that served as the main venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. During the planning and hosting of the Olympics, Tokyo heavily emphasized sustainability and thus, prioritized eco-friendly practices and energy saving designs when it created the National Stadium. Today, the stadium serves as an excellent example of sustainable architecture. “Since the National Stadium is a facility that is the focus of public and media attention, we believe it will have an impact on Japan and Tokyo from a sustainability perspective,” the National Stadium shared.

Kengo Kuma, a renowned Japanese architect known for his designs that blend nature and modernity, was inspired by the traditional Japanese architecture of Horyuji Temple in Nara—the oldest wooden building in the world—for the stadium’s appearance. This ode to the past is best recognized in the stadium’s encircling wooden eaves, which Tokyo constructed using timber from SGEC/PEFC-certified forests in all of Japan’s 47 prefectures. This certification designates that forests and supply chains are sustainably managed. By incorporating certified wood from all over the country, the stadium serves as both a symbol of nationwide unity and sustainable forest management.

Inside, the National Stadium has numerous energy-saving and eco-friendly designs to ensure that its functionality also supports sustainability. For instance, with its multi-floor, open-air design, the stadium channels wind into its arena area to create a more comfortable environment temperature-wise for spectators. The facility also utilizes rainwater for its irrigation systems and uses solar power to reduce its energy consumption.

Aside from its internal eco-friendly processes, the stadium’s appearance was carefully designed to reduce its visual impact on the surrounding environment—a key element of sustainable architecture. Since the facility is located in the Outer Garden of Meiji Jingu Shrine, it was constructed with a flat roof to minimize its height and integrated about 47,000 plants along its eaves to help better blend into the environment. In terms of inclusivity and comfort, the stadium also includes passageways, elevators, and bathrooms for disabled visitors so everyone can enjoy the facility. “The stadium was designed to be a people-friendly place where anyone can gather and enjoy athletic competitions with peace of mind,” the National Stadium shared.

The points listed above are just a small fraction of the National Stadium’s commitment to sustainability. Today, visitors can join a stadium tour and explore generally off-limits spots such as the athletes’ locker rooms and track and field area, as well as visit the facility’s observation deck for an all encompassing view of its wooden eaves above thousands of seats. During the beginning of the self-guided tour, the National Stadium presents a video that introduces sustainable initiatives such as solar energy and rainwater usage.

One of the most enchanting parts of the stadium tour is the initial entrance onto the track and field area. The walk from the lit corridors to the expansive field encircled by thousands of seats is a truly jaw-dropping experience. The massive size of the stadium leaves visitors imagining what it was like for the athletes competing in the arena. As one walks, or even runs, along the olympic-marked track, they can follow the footsteps of the world’s most impressive athletes. The track even has spike marks left from past competitors. The seats themselves are equally mesmerizing and are colored to reflect a garden—with colors blending from brown to green to white.

On the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors website, the facility is introduced as a “...stadium that asks the question of human-environment affinity for the future.” With its use of natural materials and energy efficient designs, consideration for the encircling environment, and inclusion of all guests, the stadium exemplifies sustainable architecture and is a wonderful reference for Tokyo’s future building designs.

Creative Youth Culture and Sustainability at Shibuya PARCO

Synonymous with Tokyo’s party scene, Shibuya City is situated west of central Tokyo and recognized as one of the city’s leading entertainment districts. With the iconic Shibuya Crossing, shopping complexes, numerous nightclubs and bars, youth culture, and fashion, it is no surprise that Shibuya is one of the city’s most popular areas. Once the sun sets, the streets become enlivened with neon lights and the excited chatter of tipsy friends. An excellent representation of the city’s bustling atmosphere is Shibuya PARCO, a shopping complex located about a five-minute walk from Shibuya Station.

Shibuya PARCO is a 10-floor facility home to restaurants, cafes, bars, clothing stores, art galleries, video game and anime merchandise, a theater, and even a rooftop garden. In addition to its permanent shops, the complex also hosts numerous events, exhibitions, and pop-up stores throughout the year. With its focus on nurturing a culture for future generations through ingenuity and creativity, the facility has incorporated numerous sustainable elements into its design and function.

In terms of decarbonization efforts, the complex has installed total heat exchangers to reduce the impact of summer and winter air on stores’ temperatures, implemented outside air cooling to optimize cooling in the middle of the year, replaced its lights with LED lighting, integrated solar power and rainwater in its processes, and much more. As a result of these efforts, Shibuya PARCO received four out of five stars from the BELS (Building and Residential Energy Efficiency Labeling System), a third-party organization that evaluates the energy-saving performance of buildings. The facility also was selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a "Leading Project for Sustainable Buildings (CO2 Saving Leading Project)" in recognition of its efforts to create attractive outdoor spaces, introduce efficient energy systems, and promote efficient energy use through digital communication.

One of Shibuya PARCO’s most notable outdoor features is its SPIRAL WALK, which is a series of stairs and walkways that connect the facility’s first and tenth floors. This path winds around the facility in a spiral motion and is home to resting areas, as well as plantlife. Guests can follow this walkway to outdoor spaces on the fourth, eighth, and tenth floors and admire stunning panoramas of the encircling cityscape below during their walk. The complex’s architectural design was actually inspired by the hills and streets of Shibuya, making it an excellent place to experience the city. Through its appearance and function, Shibuya PARCO aims to create a connection between guests and Shibuya and play a role in further enlivening the city.

In 2022, Shibuya PARCO also majorly renovated its fourth floor to support its culture of sustainability and creativity and emphasize that commercial facilities rely on close relationships with society. This new floor features a temporary plaza and focuses on vintage clothing, home decor, and art. Here, visitors can find vintage clothes, garments made with recycled thread and scrap fabric, goods handcrafted by young, independent creators, and more. On the fourth floor, Shibuya PARCO seeks to present and promote a sustainable theme built on reuse, recreation, reproduction/repairs, and handmade work.

As exemplified above, Shibuya PARCO not only illustrates sustainable architecture with its design, but also encourages visitors to live more sustainably through its shops, events, and promotions—making it the perfect place to shop, dine, experience Shibuya, and travel sustainably!

Kajima Akasaka Annex: Not Your Ordinary Office Building

Apart from well recognized structures like the National Stadium and Shibuya PARCO, sustainable architecture also exists throughout Tokyo in lesser known facilities, like the Kajima Akasaka Annex—an office building located in Minato City. Minato, situated directly south of central Tokyo, rests along the waters of Tokyo Bay and serves as an international hub filled with thrilling bars and nightclubs, greenspaces, shopping complexes, authentic izakaya (Japanese bars), museums, restaurants, and more. Kajima Akasaka Annex is located in Minato’s Akasaka district, which is home to a number of foreign embassies and companies, as well as traditional bars and restaurants.

As an office building for the long established construction company, Kajima Corporation, the Kajima Akasaka Annex features a number of sustainable processes in its architectural design. Some notable attributes include low emissivity glass—a type of energy-efficient glass that improves insulation, an “on demand” air conditioning system that only cools necessary areas, Eco-Modules that adjust the lighting and air conditioning in a room depending on the occupancy, natural ventilation with outside air, rainwater usage, and much more. This office building reflects Kajima Corporation’s goals to coexist with nature and illustrates how sustainable architecture is interwoven in Tokyo’s cityscape in a variety of ways.

Although the public is not allowed to enter the Kajima Akasaka Annex, its exterior is a beautifully modern sight. During the day, the symmetrical combination of glass and steel reflect the surrounding cityscape in an artsy manner, and at night the illuminated offices and residences create a pleasing snapshot of citylife. A great place to view the skyscraper is from the adjacent Akasaka Hikawa Park—an urban getaway popular for its picturesque fountain and rose gardens. While in the area, visitors can also stop by the popular Akasaka Hikawa Shrine, which is just a five-minute walk from the building. With its sustainable designs, sleek exterior, and entertaining location, the Kajima Akasaka Annex is a great off-the-beaten-path find for architecture enthusiasts.

Let’s Appreciate Tokyo’s Architecture from a Sustainability Perspective

Tokyo’s skyline itself is one of the city’s greatest lures. The congregation of buildings—represented by varying shapes and colors—perfectly matches the ever-intriguing vibes of the metropolis. Here, tourists can fill their itineraries with a number of mesmerizing structures located in some of the city’s most popular areas. In addition to their visual appeal, numerous facilities throughout Tokyo have also started incorporating sustainability into their architectural designs and operations. By doing so, Tokyo as a whole can successfully conserve natural resources, reduce energy consumption and waste, protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and improve the living conditions, health, and comfort of inhabitants. In this urban environment of change, tourists can enjoy cutting-edge designs, traditional architecture, and structures that embody both. With many buildings practicing energy-saving and eco-friendly processes internally, visitors can also have peace of mind that their travels throughout the city support sustainability.