Century Tower (Tokyo)
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The Century Tower is a 21-storey building located in Hongo, Bunkyo,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. The building overlooks the River Kanda, with
Ochanomizu is a neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan. It extends from the Yushima section of Bunkyo-ku to the Kanda section of Chiyoda-ku. Sundai Preparatory School, Meiji University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and Juntendo University all have mai ...
on the opposite side.


History

The tower was commissioned by Kazuo Akao, the son of publishing tycoon Yoshio Akao, as the headquarters of the Obunsha publishing house. It cost Obunsha 1.8 billion yen to commission British architect
Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...
to design it and the construction cost the company 23 billion yen. The structure has two main towers with a 72-metre-high atrium between them. This design nearly failed to gain authorisation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare due to Japan's stricter fire safety regulations. However,
Obayashi Corporation is one of five major Japanese construction companies along with Shimizu Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Kajima Corporation, and Taisei Corporation. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is one of the Nikkei 225 corporations. Its h ...
brought Foster's pan to life by pressurising the air throughout the atrium. The building was completed in May 1991. During the
Lost Decades The Lost Decades are a lengthy period of economic stagnation in Japan precipitated by the asset price bubble's collapse beginning in 1990. The singular term originally referred to the 1990s, but the 2000s (Lost 20 Years, ) and the 2010s (Lost ...
, the original owner faced financial difficulties and sold the building. In 2007, it was purchased by its current owner,
Juntendo University is a private university in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. Its headquarters are on its campus in Bunkyo, for the School of Medicine and in Inzai, Chiba, for the School of Health and Sports Science. The university was established in 1946, although it can ...
.{{Cite web , last=日経不動産マーケット情報 , date=2009-09-08 , title=【売買】文京区本郷のセンチュリータワー、順天堂が住友信託銀行グループから取得 , url=https://nfm.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/fb/news/20090904/535154/ , access-date=2024-11-30 , website=日経不動産マーケット情報 , language=ja


References

1991 establishments in Japan Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank Modernist architecture in Japan