ThinkPark: Tokyo's First Step Toward Green Urbanism

The developers of this new Japanese highrise took a chance by adding green building elements to their design. With nearly full tenancy on opening last month, these pioneers have blazed a trail for others to follow. by Rick Seireeni A recent visitor to Tokyo would find it hard to believe that 19th Century Westerners marveled at the city’s wooded landscapes crisscrossed by tree-lined rivers and canals. Unlike the filth and pollution that plagued contemporary cities like New York and Liverpool, Tokyo residents shared an intimacy with nature in the very heart of the city. Images of this lush urban landscape on the Sumida River were captured by the famous woodblock artists of the era and brought home as envious proof of what Western cities had lost. Well, that was then. Today, Tokyo is a vast sea of concrete and glass. It has more than caught up with the Western style of urbanization. Except for the few parks that were carved out of nobleman estates, there is very little nature left. Tokyo Bay, on which the city is perched, is entirely surrounded by port activity and offers virtually no public enjoyment. Even the vast system of canals that could have made […]

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