- Tokyo Sky Tree
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Tokyo Sky Tree 東京スカイツリー 
Tokyo Sky Tree under construction
634 m October 2011General information Status Under construction Type Broadcast, restaurant, and observation tower Location Sumida, Tokyo, Japan Coordinates 35°42′36.5″N 139°48′39″E / 35.710139°N 139.81083°ECoordinates: 35°42′36.5″N 139°48′39″E / 35.710139°N 139.81083°E Construction started 14 July 2008 Estimated completion February 2012 Opening 22 May 2012 Cost 40 billion JPY (440 million USD) Height Antenna spire 634.0 m (2,080 ft) Roof 495.0 m (1,624 ft) Top floor 450.0 m (1,476 ft) Technical details Elevator count 13 Design and construction Owner Tobu Tower Sky Tree Co., Ltd. Main contractor Obayashi Corp. Architect Nikken Sekkei Developer Tobu Railway Website tokyo-skytree.jp/english/ The Tokyo Sky Tree (東京スカイツリー Tōkyō Sukai Tsurī), formerly known as New Tokyo Tower (新東京タワー Shin Tōkyō Tawā), is a broadcasting, restaurant and observation tower under construction in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest artificial structure in Japan since 2010.[1] The tower reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011 but will not be finished until at least February 2012.
The project is being led by Tobu Railway and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters (headed by public broadcaster NHK). Construction of the tower is scheduled to be completed by February 2012, with the public opening on 22 May 2012.[2] The completed structure will be the centrepiece of a massive commercial development located equidistant from Narihirabashi Station and Oshiage Station.
One of Tokyo Sky Tree's main purposes is as a television and radio broadcasting tower. Tokyo's current broadcasting tower, Tokyo Tower, is at 333 m (1,093 ft), and is no longer tall enough to give complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by many high-rise buildings.
The Tokyo Sky Tree is currently the tallest tower in the world. It is taller than Canton Tower (600 m (1,969 ft)); the tallest structure on an island, taller than Taipei 101; and the second tallest structure in the world, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Contents
Design
The cross-section of the tower forms an equilateral triangle on the ground, gradually rounding to become circular at 320 m elevation.
The design was published on 24 November 2006, based on the following three concepts.
- Fusion of futuristic design and traditional beauty of Japan
- Catalyst for revitalization of the city
- Contribution to disaster prevention "Safety and Security"
The base of the tower has a structure similar to a "tripod", but from a height of about 350 m and above, the tower's structure is cylindrical to withstand very strong winds.
The tower also has state-of-the-art seismic proofing, including a central shaft made of reinforced concrete.
Color
The exterior lattice is painted a color officially called "Sky Tree White". This is an original color based on a bluish white Japanese traditional color called aijiro (藍白).[3]
Illumination
The illumination design was published on 16 October 2009. Two different illumination patterns (Sky blue and Purple) will be used, alternately daily. The tower will be illuminated using LED lights.
Naming and height
Diagram of the tallest TV-TowersFrom 26 October to 25 November 2007, suggestions were collected from the general public for the name to be given to the new tower. On 19 March 2008, a committee chose six final candidate names: Tokyo Edo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, Mirai Tree, Yumemi Yagura, Rising East Tower, and Rising Tower, with the official name to be decided in a nationwide vote. On 10 June 2008 the official name of the tower was announced as "Tokyo Sky Tree". The name received around 33,000 votes (30%) out of 110,000 cast, with the second most popular name being "Tokyo Edo Tower".[4]
The height of 634 m was selected to have a height that is easy to be remembered. The figures 6 (mu), 3 (sa), 4 (shi) stand for "Musashi" an old name of the region where the Tokyo Sky Tree stands.
Broadcasting use
Tokyo Sky Tree will be used as a communications tower for a number of different media and by numerous companies.
Television broadcasters
Channel Channel name Callsign Signal power Broadcast area 1 NHK General TV / NHK G (GTV) JOAK-DTV 10 kW Kantō (except Ibaraki Prefecture) 2 NHK Educational TV / NHK E (ETV) JOAB-DTV All Japan 4 Nippon Television / Nittele (NTV) JOAX-DTV All Kantō 5 TV Asahi / Tele-Asa (EX) JOEX-DTV 6 TBS JORX-DTV 7 TV Tokyo / Teleto (TX) JOTX-DTV 8 Fuji Television (CX) JOCX-DTV 9 Tokyo Metropolitan Television / Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV 3 kW Tokyo FM radio broadcasters
Frequency Station name Callsign ERP Broadcast area 81.3 MHz J-WAVE JOAV-FM 44 kW Tokyo 82.5 MHz NHK Tokyo FM JOAK-FM Timeline
2008
- 14 July 2008: A ceremony was held at the site to mark the start of construction.[5]
2009
- 6 April 2009: The foundations for the three main legs were completed.[6]
- 7 August 2009: The tower reached a height of 100 m.[7]
- 16 October 2009: The projected height was increased from 610 m to 634 m to make it the highest self-supporting steel tower. 6-3-4 is Mu-sa-shi in Japanese wordplay goroawase.[8]
- 10 November 2009: The tower reached a height of 200 m.[9]
2010
- 16 February 2010: The tower reached a height of 300 m.[10]
- 29 March 2010: The tower reached a height of 338 m, becoming the tallest structure in Japan.[1]
- 24 April 2010: A 1:25 scale model of the Tokyo Sky Tree was unveiled at the Tobu World Square theme park in Nikkō, Tochigi.[11]
- 30 July 2010: The tower topped 400 m, reaching a height of 408 m.[12]
- 11 September 2010: The tower reached 461 m, becoming the tallest structure ever built in Japan, surpassing the dismantled Tsushima Omega tower of 455 m.[13]
- 23 October 2010: The tower reached a height of 497 m, and assembly of the main tower section was completed.
- 20 November 2010: Two tuned mass dampers with a total weight of 100 tons were temporarily placed on the tower tip at 497 m.[14][15]
- 1 December 2010: The tower topped the 500 m mark and reached a height of 511 m, beating Taipei 101 (509 m). A lightning conductor and two tuned mass dampers were docked to the gain tower, which was gradually lifted within the central shaft.[16]
- 16 December 2010: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications approved NHK and five TV key stations in Tokyo's plans to install their broadcasting facilities on the tower.[17]
- 18 December 2010: The transmitting antenna for digital terrestrial television began to be installed.
2011
- 1 March 2011: The tower topped the 600 m mark and reached a height of 604 m, beating Canton Tower (600 m) and becoming the world's tallest tower.[18][19]
- 12 March 2011: The tower reached a height of 625 m. A full inspection was made, looking for possible damage by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and its aftershocks.
- 18 March 2011: The tower reached its final height of 634 m at 1:34 p.m. JST.[20]
- 23 May 2011: Dismantling four tower cranes one by one, continue till mid-July.[21]
- 7 June 2011: Announced public opening date of Tokyo Sky Tree Town and entrance fee (Adults: 2,000 yen to 350 m level; extra 1,000 yen to 450 m level) to observation floors. [22]
Construction progress
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Searchlights showing the planned height of 610 m, 6 October 2007
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The site during preparation before construction, 12 April 2008
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14 July 2009 (76 m)
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19 September 2009 (153 m)
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14 November 2009 (205 m)
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22 December 2009 (245 m)
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30 March 2010 (338 m)
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10 July 2010 (398 m)
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Illumination testing, from 18:30 to 21:10, 13 October 2010 (488 m)
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3 November 2010 (497 m)
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23 January 2011 (559 m)
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Tokyo Sky Tree at its full height on 19 March 2011
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The tower view from air in March 2011.
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4 August 2011
See also
- Tokyo Tower
- Sky City 1000
- List of tallest structures in Japan
- List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
References
General
- Skyscrapernews article on New Tokyo Tower
- Project profile at Emporis
- "Sumida-Taito picked for new Tokyo Tower site", The Japan Times, 29 March 2005.
- Broadcasters to use new Tokyo Tower as main transmitter, Japan Today, 14 December 2007.
Specific
- ^ a b Tokyo Sky Tree beats Tokyo Tower, now tallest building in Japan, The Mainichi Daily News, 29 March 2010
- ^ "事業概要" (in Japanese). Tokyo Sky Tree Home. http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/about/enterprise.html. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Color Design". Tokyo Sky Tree. Japan: Tobu Railway Co.. 2008. http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/english/design/color.html. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Name of New Tower Decided (Japanese)
- ^ Tokyo Sky Tree construction starts. The Japan Times (15 July 2008). Retrieved on 15 July 2008.
- ^ "高さ610メートル電波塔「スカイツリー」本体が地上に姿 [The height of 610 meter radio wave tower, "Sky Tree", the main body of tower appeared on the ground]" (in Japanese). Tokyo: Sankei Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2009-04-06. http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/kanto/tokyo/090406/tky0904062220006-n1.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ Rising-east.jp. "Tokyo Sky Tree is the height of the body beyond the 100m tower. Tree is growing steadily.". http://www.rising-east.jp/dl/pdf/20090806.pdf.
- ^ "東京スカイーツリーの最高高さを634mに決定しました。 [Maximum height of Tokyo Sky Tree decided to be 634m]" (in Japanese) (PDF). Tokyo: Tobu Railway and Tobu Tower Sky Tree. Archived from the original on 2009-10-16. http://www.rising-east.jp/dl/pdf/2009101602.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "[Tokyo Sky Tree's height of the tower body exceeds 300m]" (in Japanese) (PDF). Rising East project. http://www.rising-east.jp/dl/pdf/100216.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "[Nothing very little about this miniature]". Asahi Shimbun. http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201003240432.html. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ^ Tokyo Sky Tree, already tallest building in Japan, tops 400 meters, Kyodo News, 30 July 2010
- ^ "[Skytree, actually at last became the tallest in Japan... 461m]" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Online. September 13, 2010. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100913-OYT1T00327.htm?from=navlp. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5shjrEY4a)
- ^ "東京スカイツリー® のつくり方「制振装置のあるゲイン塔頂部をつくる」 ["To make the tower tip with TMD installed", how to make Tokyo Sky Tree™]" (in Japanese). Obayashi Corporation. 2010-11-25. http://www.obayashi.co.jp/news/skytreedetail10_20101125_1. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ "総重量は約100トン。制振装置が塔体の最頂部へ [Total weight 100 ton, TMD placed on tower tip.]" (in Japanese). Blog from construction site, Obayashi Corporation. 2010-11-25. http://blog.skytree-obayashi.com/?eid=110989. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
- ^ "Tokyo Sky Tree tops 500 meters during construction". Japan Today. December 1. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tokyo-sky-tree-tops-500-meters-during-construction.
- ^ "東京スカイツリーへの放送局の無線設備の設置に向けた変更許可について [Approval of alteration to install the radio wave facility of broadcasting stations to Tokyo Sky Tree]" (in Japanese). Kanto Bureau of Telecommunications of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. 2010-12-16. http://www.soumu.go.jp/soutsu/kanto/if/press/p22/p2212/p221217o.html. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ^ "Tokyo Sky Tree tops 600 meters, becoming world's tallest tower". Japan Today. 1 March 2011. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tokyo-sky-tree-tops-600-meters-becoming-worlds-tallest-tower.
- ^ "世界一ツリー604メートル到達 東京スカイツリー [Tokyo Sky Tree reaches 604 m]" (in Japanese). Nikkei Inc.. 2011-03-02. http://www.nikkei.com/life/news/article/g=96958A9C889DE0E6E0EAEBEBE7E2E2E0E2E1E0E2E3E39191E3E2E2E2;da=96958A88889DE2E0E3EAEAE7E6E2E0E3E3E0E0E2E2EBE2E2E2E2E2E2. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ "スカイツリー、634メートルに到達 完成時の高さに [Sky Tree reaches final height of 634 m]" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo). http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0318/TKY201103180299.html. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ^ Yomiuri-online movie, dismantling on 23 May 2011 (Japanese)
- ^ "東京スカイツリータウンの事業概要が決定しました [Decided the business outline of Tokyo Sky Tree Town]" (in Japanese) (PDF). Tokyo Sky Tree Town. 2011-06-07. http://www.tokyo-skytreetown.jp/dl/pdf/2011060701.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
External links
- Official website (English)
- Tokyo Sky Tree construction site webcam (available Monday–Saturday 9:00–17:00 Japan Standard Time only) (Japanese)
- Tokyo Sky Tree, Current height, indicated with large letters (Japanese)
- Tokyo Sky Tree Live Camera from American Home Assurance Company near Kinshichō Station (Japanese)
Skyscrapers and towers in Tokyo List of tallest structures in Tokyo Completed Over 300 mTokyo Tower (333 m, 1958)200–300 mMidtown Tower (248 m, 2007) · Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 (243 m, 1991) · NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building (240 m, 2000) · Sunshine 60 (240 m, 1978) · Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (238 m, 2003) · Shinjuku Park Tower (235 m, 1994) · Tokyo Opera City Tower (234 m, 1996) · Shinjuku Mitsui Building (225 m, 1974) · Shinjuku Center Building (223 m, 1979) · Saint Luke's Tower (221 m, 1994) · Izumi Garden Tower (216 m, 2002) · Shiodome City Center (216 m, 2003) · Dentsu Building (213 m, 2002) · Shinjuku Sumitomo Building (210 m, 1974) · GranTokyo North Tower (205 m, 2007) · GranTokyo South Tower (205 m, 2007) · Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (204 m, 2008) · Shinjuku Nomura Building (203 m, 1978)180–200 mShin-Marunouchi Building (198 m, 2007) · Harumi Island Triton Square Tower X (195 m, 2001) · Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower (195 m, 2005) · Sannō Park Tower (195 m, 2000) · Sompo Japan Building (193 m, 1976) · Nittele Tower (193 m, 2003) · Sea Tower (192 m, 2008) · Mid Tower (192 m, 2008) · Acty Shiodome (190 m, 2004) · Shinjuku I-Land Tower (189 m, 1994) · Atago Green Hills Mori Tower (188 m, 2001) · Cerulean Tower (184 m, 2001) · Sumitomo Real Estate Shinjuku Oak Tower (184 m, 2002) · Century Park Tower (180 m, 1999) · NEC Supertower (180 m, 1990) · JA Building (180 m, 2009) · Park City Toyosu Building A (180 m, 2008) · Keio Plaza Hotel North Tower (180 m, 1971)160–180 mSumitomo Fudosan Mita Twin Buildings (179.3 m, 2006) · Marunouchi Building (179 m, 2002) · W-Comfort Towers (178.5 m, 2004) · Marunouchi Trust Tower Main Building (178 m, 2008) · Toshiba Building (165.9 m, 1984) · Shiodome Media Tower (172.6 m, 2003) · Kasumigaseki Common Gate Towers (175.8 m, 2007) · World Trade Center (Tokyo) (162.6 m, 1970) · Tokyo Shiodome Building (173.2 m, 2005) · Park Axis Aoyama 1-chome Tower (172.4 m, 2007) · Royal Park Shiodome Tower (172 m, 2003) · City Towers Toyosu The Twin (171.2 m, 2009) · Marunouchi Park Building (170.1 m, 2009) · JT Building (169.7 m, 1995) · Bay City Harumi Sky Link Tower (169 m m, 2009) · Central Park Tower La Tour Shinjuku (167.8 m, 2010) · Capital Mark Tower (167.3 m, 2007) · Sapia Tower (167.2 m, 2007) · Yebisu Garden Place Tower (167 m, 1994) · Kita-Shinjuku Area Redevelopment Plan Office Tower (166.5 m, 2011) · Naka-Meguro Atlas Tower (165 m, 2009) · Marunouchi Kitaguchi Building (147.4 m, 2004) · Tokyo Twin Parks (165 m, 2002) · Triton View Tower (165 m, 1998) · Toyosu Center Building (165 m, 1992) · Tokyo Building (164.1 m, 2005) · Akasaka Tower Residence (162 m, 2008) · Shinjuku Maynds Tower (161.1 m, 1995) · Shibaura Island Cape Tower (161 m, 2006) · Nippon Seimei Marunouchi Building (160 m, 2004) ·150–160 mConcieria Nishi-Shinjuku Tower's West (159.8 m, 2008) · Tornare Nihombashi-Hamacho (159.7 m, 2005) · Roppongi Hills Residences (159 m, 2003) · Brillia Tower Tokyo (158.9 m, 2006) · Prudential Tower (158.4 m, 2002) · Bunkyo Civic Center (145.7 m, 1994) · Shiroyama JT Trust Tower (147.7 m, 1991) · Park Court Akasaka The Tower (157.3 m, 2009) · Atago Green Hills Forest Tower (157 m, 2001) · Plaza Tower Kachidoki (155.2 m, 2004) · The Toyosu Tower (155 m, 2008) · Tokyo Dome Hotel (155 m, 2000) · Tokyo Gas Co. Headquarters (155.7 m, 1984) · KDDI Otemachi Building (155.4 m, 1990) · Takanawa The Residence (153.9 m, 2005) · Toranomon Towers Residence (153.5 m, 2006) · Ark Mori Building (153.3 m, 1986) · Toyosu 3-Chome Area 8-4 Plan (153 m, 2010) · Station Garden Tower (153 m, 2008) · Tokyo Sankei New Building (152.4 m, 2000) · JPower Headquarters (153 m, 1987) · Park Tower Gran Sky (152.9 m, 2010) · Garden Air Tower (152.6 m, 2003) · Shinagawa East One Tower (151.6 m, 2003) · Shiba-Koen First Building (151.2 m, 2000) · Futako-Tamagawa Rise Tower & Residence Tower East (151.1 m, 2010) · Odakyu Southern Tower (150.8 m m, 1998) · Air Rise Tower (150.5 m, 2007) · JR East Japan Building (150.2 m, 1997) · Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters Building (150 m, 2009) · Kudanshita 3rd Government Building - Chiyoda Ward Office (150 m, 2007) · Taiyo Seimei Shinagawa Building (150 m, 2003) · Granpark Tower (150 m, 1996) ·140–150 mShinagawa Grand Central Tower (149.8 m, 2003) · Pacific Century Place (149.8 m, 2001) · Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Building (148.5 m, 2003) · Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation Head Office (148.4 m, 2003) · Canon S Tower (147.7 m, 2003) · Akihabara Dai Building (147.5 m, 2005) · Toyosu Center Building Annex (147.4 m, 2006 · BEACON Tower Residence (147 m, 2009) · Meiji Yasuda Seimei Building (146.8 m, 2004) · Fujisoft Akihabara Building (146.7 m, 2007) · Canal First Tower (145.5 m, 2008) · NTT DoCoMo Shinagawa Building (145.1 m, 2003) · River City 21 East Towers (144.9 m, 2000) · Sumitomo Fudosan Aobadai Tower (144.5 m, 2009) · Shinagawa Intercity Towers (144.5 m, 1998) · Hotel New Otani Tokyo Tower (144.5 m, 1974) · Toyosu Ciel Tower (144.4 m, 2006) · Apple Tower (143 m, 2007) · Shinagawa V-Tower (143 m, 2003) · Shinagawa Prince Hotel New Tower (143 m, 1994) · Mizuho Bank Headquarters (142.5 m, 1980) · Regale Nihombashi-Ningyocho (142.2 m, 2007) · Shirokane Tower (141.9 m, 2005) · Hikifune Station Front Area 1 Redevelopment (141.6 m, 2009) · Akasaka Park Building (141 m, 1993) · City Tower Shinagawa (140.9 m, 2008) · ThinkPark Tower (140.5 m, 2007) · Shinjuku Kokusai Building - Hilton Tokyo (141 m, 1984) · NHK Broadcasting Center (140.1 m, 1973) ·130–140 mStation Plaza Tower (139.9 m, 2009) · Sumitomo Fudosan Nishi-Shinjuku Building (139.9 m, 2009) · World City Towers (139.9 m, 2007) · Olinas Tower (139.3 m, 2006) · Kokusai Shin-Akasaka East Building (139.3 m, 1980) · Toyosu ON Building (139 m, 1992) · River City 21 Skylight Tower (139 m, 1990) · Shibuya Cross Tower (134.1 m, 1975) · Akasaka Prince Hotel (138.9 m, 1982) · World City Towers Aqua Tower (138.7 m, 2006) · The Tower Grandia (138.7 m, 2004) · Tokyo Times Tower (138.5 m, 2004) · Roppongi T-CUBE (138.5 m, 2003) · Venasis Kanamachi Tower Residence (138.2 m, 2009) · Royal Parks Tower Minami-Senju (138 m, 2008) · Kawadacho Comfo Garden (138 m, 2003) · Otemachi Nomura Building (138 m, 1997) · Proud Tower Chiyoda Fujimi (137 m, 2009) · Cosmopolis Shinagawa (137 m, 2005) · Bay Crest Tower (136.6 m, 2005) · Renaissance Tower Ueno-Ikenohata (136.5 m, 2005) · Nippon Express Headquarters (136.5 m, 2003) · Crest Prime Tower Shiba (136.4 m, 2007) · Century Tower (136 m, 1991) · Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters (135.6 m, 1973) · Chiyoda First Building West (135 m, 2004) · NTT DoCoMo Sumida Building (135 m, 2003) · Akasaka Intercity (134.8 m, 2005) · Hotel New Otani Garden Court (134.7 m, 1991) · Vanguard Tower (134.6 m, 2007) · Riverside Sumida Center (134.4 m, 1994) · The Garden Towers (134.3 m, 1998) · Yoyogi Seminar Tower Obelisk (134 m, 2008) · Nakano-Sakaue Sun Bright Twin (134 m, 1996) · Moon Island Tower (133.8 m, 2002) · Shinjuku NS Building (133.7 m, 1982) · Shiodome Building (133.5 m, 2007) · Tokyo ANA Tower (133 m, 1986) · Kogakuin University Shinjuku Building (132.9 m, 1989) · Sumitomo Realty Shiba-Koen Tower (132.6 m, 2001) · NTT Data Shinagawa Building (132.3 m, 2003) · River City 21 River Point Tower (132 m, 1989) · Shin-Gofukubashi Building (132 m, 1979) · City Tower Shinjuku Shintoshin (130.6 m, 2005) · The Center Tokyo (130 m, 2007) · River Harp Tower Building 2 (130 m, 2000) · Tomin Tower Shinonome (130 m, 1996) · Sunshine City Prince Hotel (130 m, 1980) ·Under
constructionTokyo Sky Tree (634 m, 2011) · JP Tower (200 m, 2011) · Nishi-Shinjuku 8-chome Naruko Area Redevelopment (196 m, 2011) · Kachidoki View Tower (192 m, 2010) · Higashi-Ikebukuro 4-chome Redevelopment Project (189 m, 2011)Buildings listed in order of height and with year of completion
Category · 
CommonsCategories:- Towers in Japan
- Buildings and structures in Tokyo
- Buildings and structures under construction
- 2012 introductions
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