In 2005 the huge urban regeneration project Omotesando Hills was finished. A mixed used complex consisting of 130 shops and 38 apartments housing. In front of the building is a grove of zelkova, a Japanese tree of leafy crown. For this reason, Ando’s proposal for the urban revitalization in the area, tried to reduce its impact on the townscape by controlling the height of the building in order to not exceed the height of the trees.

The concept is as followed: In a triangular plot, a ramp 700 m long, called Spiral Slope ascends 6 levels, around a large atrium of oblong and monumental proportions, naturally lit by a skylight. Tadao Ando was able “to use the slope of the Omotesando Street as part of the public space of the complex. The facade continues for 250 meters along the slope of Omotesando Street. Each floor is created in the same slope as Omotesando’s, creating an innovative urban public space.”

Andos design is an unusual origami-like structure fashioned from 16-mm steel plates. Although the site is relatively ample by Tokyo standards (352m2), part of the area is limited to steel-frame or wood construction not exceeding two stories. Furthermore, the lease for the site covers two areas, one for a ten-year period, and one for half that duration.

Two stories plus a basement arranged as a continuous interior space, this design store has a total floor area of 469m2 and a footprint of 210m2. In the construction rule of Tokyo that requires new buildings not to block more than a certain percentage of neighbors light, Ando crafted the form until he found the ideal solution. Just under ten meters tall, the dark steel building is painted with a zinc-based primer fluoropolymer paint. Just as the 4×4 House II wiil surprise certain people, so too will the hhstyle.com building, but for different reasons. Ando shows here that he can be a virtuoso with materials other than concrete.