THE YOKOHAMA FRONT is a mixed-use tower in the Yokohama Station N. West Exit Tsuruya District Type 1 Urban Redevelopment Project, consisting of the Global Sky Commons with international exchange, information transmission, and cultural functions, a hotel, serviced apartments, and commercial facilities. It was recognized as Japan’s first national strategic housing development project and also promoted the development of housing necessary to strengthen the international industrial competitiveness and form a base for international economic activities.

Because of the project’s high attention level, we have been involved as designers from the early stages. We also participated in the Urban Design Subcommittee of the Excite Yokohama 22 Guideline Study Group, an administrative consultation in which we discussed with experts what the facility should be

Under the project concept of “a town that makes the most of the charm of Tsuruya-cho and leaves a lasting impression on people’s memories,” we aimed to create a new town by adding the “attractive living environment” of the National Strategic Housing Development Project to the “community atmosphere of the neighborhood” of the existing town. The “low-rise section with a high degree of openness and a sense of movement” that harmonizes with the community atmosphere of the neighborhood will be topped by “a simple, elongated high-rise section that will form a new skyline for Yokohama”. In addition to these design features, the project has succeeded in attracting tenants who will create a sense of circulation by connecting with the uses of the surrounding area, providing different types of housing according to need, and developing GLOBAL SKY COMMONS that connect the bustling atmosphere at ground level to the upper level.

The plaza and greenery connected from the west exit of Yokohama Station also continue to the upper floors of THE YOKOHAMA FRONT, creating a new and vibrant circulation system. We hope that this site will become a new symbol of Yokohama and a place that many people will visit and return to in the future.