Gate Tower Building, Osaka
The Gate Tower Building is a 16-storey office building in Osaka, Japan. It is well-known for including the highway off-ramp at the Umeda Exit of the Hanshin Expressway system.
The 71.9 m-tall building, is made from reinforced concrete and steel and is fitted with a helipad on the roof. It was completed in 1992.
The unusual design was the result of a compromise between the landowner and the Japanese government. The landowners had originally purchased the site in the mid-19th century and wanted to redevelop it. However, in 1983 the building permits were refused because the government had already planned the Expressway. The property rights’ holders refused to relinquish the property, and after five years of negotiation with the Hanshin Expressway Corporation, a compromise was struck – the road would pass through the building.
The Expressway passes between floors 5-7 of the building and is deemed to be the tenant of those floors. The road does not make physical contact with the building but instead passes through as a bridge which is held up by supports next to the building. It is surrounded by a casing structure that protects the building from vibration.
The only significant alterations the building designers had to make were to instal sound insulating walls and for the elevators to pass from floor 4 to floor 8 without stopping.
Since the completion of the building in 1992, Japan’s highway laws, city planning laws, city redevelopment laws and building codes were partly revised to allow the unified development of highways and buildings in the same space, to prevent such negotiations from occurring again.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Mental Health Awareness Week with ABS
Architects Benevolent Society programme of activity.
CLC publishes domestic retrofit competency framework
Roadmap of Skills for net zero.
May 13-19: Moving more for our mental health.
Understanding is key to conservation.
Open industry engagement survey seeks responses
Institutions and the importance of engagement.
National Retrofit Hub unveils new guide
Digital Building Logbooks and Retrofit: An Introduction.
Top 50 firms awarded 52bn of projects in the last year
New engineering data shows.
Enhancing construction site reporting efficiency
Through digitisation and the digital revolution.
Noise in the built environment
BSRIA guide TG 20/2021.
17,000 people suffer conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work.
Turning down the noise: Auditory health
A pervasive risk with far-reaching consequences.
Getting the most out of heat pumps and heating
How heat pumps work and how they work best.
Plumbing and heating for successful retrofit and renovation
Low temperature underfloor systems and heat pumps.
Cost-of-living crisis and home improvement plans
Starting on the right footing and top tips for projects.
Delays on construction projects
Types, mitigation and the acceleration of works.
From Chaucer to Fawlty Towers.
Electrotechnical excellence, now open for entries.
Net zero electricity grids BSRIA guide NZG 5/2024
Outlining the changes needed to transition to net zero.
CIOB Global Student Challenge 2024
Universitas Indonesia wins for second year running.