Japan Should Stop Building Skyscrapers
Japan needs to stop building skyscrapers after the March earthquake traumatized office workers and residents in tall buildings, said billionaire Akira Mori, the president of Mori Trust Co to news agency Bloomberg.
Mori, Japan's third-richest person, said the government should consider setting a standard height for new buildings at about 100 meters, a level for so-called base- isolation systems that shift and reduce the energy of quakes to work best. An increase in tenants' preference for office space on lower floors may also make taller buildings less attractive, he said.
Developers such as Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan's largest real estate company, have been erecting taller buildings and reclaiming land to utilize space in Tokyo since the postwar economic boom gathered pace in the late 1960s. That led to so- called pencil buildings, which sit on a small plot of land disproportionate to the building's height.
"Instead of constructing pencil buildings, it's better to jointly work with other real estate owners and developers to redevelopment larger projects," said Mori. "That way, we can increase the value of real estate."
The Landmark Tower in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo, is Japan's tallest building at 296 meters and 58th in the world, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The 73-story building was developed by Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation's second-biggest developer, and completed in 1993.
The tallest building in central Tokyo, which includes the city's five main wards, is the 248-meter Midtown Tower built by Mitsui Fudosan. The Tokyo Sky Tree, a broadcasting tower, will be the tallest structure in Japan at 634 meters when it is completed in December.
Tokyo suffered little damage to its buildings in the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake, Japan's strongest. The nation has two magnitude-6.8 or larger earthquakes on average a year, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Even so, about 30 percent of 2,568 buildings in Japan are higher than 100 meters, or about 20 to 25 stories tall, according to estimates from Architectural Institute of Japan.
Mori, Japan's third-richest person, said the government should consider setting a standard height for new buildings at about 100 meters, a level for so-called base- isolation systems that shift and reduce the energy of quakes to work best. An increase in tenants' preference for office space on lower floors may also make taller buildings less attractive, he said.
Developers such as Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan's largest real estate company, have been erecting taller buildings and reclaiming land to utilize space in Tokyo since the postwar economic boom gathered pace in the late 1960s. That led to so- called pencil buildings, which sit on a small plot of land disproportionate to the building's height.
"Instead of constructing pencil buildings, it's better to jointly work with other real estate owners and developers to redevelopment larger projects," said Mori. "That way, we can increase the value of real estate."
The Landmark Tower in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo, is Japan's tallest building at 296 meters and 58th in the world, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The 73-story building was developed by Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation's second-biggest developer, and completed in 1993.
The tallest building in central Tokyo, which includes the city's five main wards, is the 248-meter Midtown Tower built by Mitsui Fudosan. The Tokyo Sky Tree, a broadcasting tower, will be the tallest structure in Japan at 634 meters when it is completed in December.
Tokyo suffered little damage to its buildings in the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake, Japan's strongest. The nation has two magnitude-6.8 or larger earthquakes on average a year, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Even so, about 30 percent of 2,568 buildings in Japan are higher than 100 meters, or about 20 to 25 stories tall, according to estimates from Architectural Institute of Japan.
