Tokyo

+ 13

• Architects

  SUGAWARADAISUKE Architects

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Project Year

  2018

• Photographs

  Takumi Ota

+ 21

• Architects

  Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Lead Architects

  Naoki Hayasaka, Haruki Nakayama

• Project team

  Mariko Abe, Matteo Lunanova, Ryosuke Baba, Nana Sugiura, Yosuke Tsukamoto, Kenji Hada

• Area

  188.0 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Yuna Yagi

+ 26

• Architects

  Horibe Associates

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Lead Architects

  Naoko Horibe

• Area

  196.22 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Hiroyuki Hirai

+ 31

• Architects

  YDS Architects

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Team

  Yoshitaka Uchino, Mana Muraki

• Built Area

  49.47 m2

• Total Floor Area

  97.50 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Nobuki Taoka

The Center for Globalization and Strategy from Barcelona’s IESE Business School has unveiled its annual list of the world’s smartest cities. In its fifth year, the IESE Cities in Motion Index has calculated the performance scores for 165 cities across 80 countries based on an exhaustive rubric of economic and social indicators. Familiar global power centers have maintained their position at the top of the heap, while expanded categories of assessment have helped a few small cities advance their position drastically.

Five lucky architecture enthusiasts and Airbnb users have been offered the unique experience to accompany Kengo Kuma on a guided tour of the 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo. The renowned architect has collaborated with Airbnb to offer the exclusive experience, described as a “visit to Kengo’s under-construction Olympic stadium, along with a meet and greet at his studio and tea with the celebrated architect.”

The July 31st tour, sadly fully booked, offers an insightful example of architects collaborating with leaders of the “gig economy” to offer design experiences directly to the public.

Researchers @FECYT_Ciencia have developed a genetic algorithm that predicts the vertical growth of cities. @physorg_com with the details: https://t.co/QsnRA1nTxz pic.twitter.com/JFB6DMJRmR

— Retina Images (@retinaimages) June 5, 2018

The growth and expansion of metropolitan areas has been evident over the past decade. Buildings are getting taller, and urban areas are getting larger. What if there was a way to predict this growth and expansion?

A new study by Spanish researchers from the University of A Coruna has discovered that the increase of skyscrapers in a city reflects the pattern “of certain self-organized biological systems,” as reported by ScienceDaily. The study uses "genetic evolutionary algorithms" to predict urban growth, looking specifically at Tokyo's Minato Ward. Architect Ivan Pazos, the lead author of the new study, explained the science behind the algorithm: "We operate within evolutionary computation, a branch of artificial intelligence and machine learning that uses the basic rules of genetics and Darwin’s natural selection logic to make predictions."

Read on for more about the study and what it could mean for the possibility of estimating vertical urban development.

The downtown skyline of a city is perhaps its most symbolic feature. The iconic cityscapes that we know and love are typically formed by skyscrapers, but much of the surrounding context is made up of other high-rise buildings. Yes, there is a difference between a skyscraper and a high-rise. Research company Emporis defines a high-rise as a building at least 35 meters (115 feet) or 12 stories tall. These high-rise buildings play a major role in the more sprawled urban context of larger cities today.

Read on for Emporis' list of the 20 cities in the world with the most high-rises. You might be surprised by which cities made the cut.

+ 27

+ 13

• Architects

  Ryuichi Ashizawa Architects & associates

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Structural Engineer

  Hirokazu Toki, Takuo Nagai

• Constructor

  Co. Washin Architectural Firm

• Area

  77.91 m2

• Project Year

  2016

• Photographs

  Kaori Ichikawa

+ 25

• Architects

  Kidosaki Architects Studio

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Principal in charge

  KIDOSAKI, Hirotaka

• Project team

  ITASAKA, Satoshi

• Area

  397.0 m2

• Project Year

  2015

• Photographs

  45g Photography - Junji Kojima

+ 14

• Architects

  Tailored design Lab

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Architect in Charge

  Tomohiko Iida + Norifumi Watanabe + Hidetoshi Sawa

• Textile Designer

  Yuki Tsutsumi（Nuno Corporation）

• Furniture

  Shinichi Shibayama（Shibayama Kaguseisaku）

• Lighting Designer

  Light Atelier

• Contractor

  Shirakawa Kensetsu

• Area

  73.35 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Yuji Nishijima

+ 18

• Architects

  TOMOKAZU HAYAKAWA ARCHITECTS

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Area

  90.0 m2

• Project Year

  2017

+ 18

• Architects

  Hugo Kohno Architect Associates

• Location

  Tokyo, Japan

• Area

  121.09 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Seiichi Osawa

Timber tower construction is the current obsession of architects, with new projects claiming to be the world’s next tallest popping up all over the globe. But this latest proposal from Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry Co. and architects Nikken Sekkei would blow everything else out of the water, as they have announced plans for the world’s first supertall wood structured skyscraper in Tokyo.

At 1,148 feet tall, the proposal outpaces similar timber-structured highrise proposals including Perkins + Will’s River Beech Tower and PLP Architecture’s Oakwood Tower.

+ 8