Shinjuku Mitsui Building

A 55-story, 223-meter office building representative of the early years of West Shinjuku's high-rise district.

Use

Office tower

Area

Shinjuku City

Completed

1974

Floors

55 above ground, 3 below

Height

223.6 m

Developer

Mitsui Fudosan

Architect

Nihon Sekkei

A building that shaped West Shinjuku’s high-rise district

Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo. In a corner of the subcenter where skyscrapers gather, an office building of 55 floors and a height of 223.6 meters was completed in 1974. This is the Shinjuku Mitsui Building. Developed by Mitsui Fudosan, it is known as one of the buildings representative of the early years in which West Shinjuku’s high-rise district took shape.

The land of West Shinjuku, where a water-purification plant once spread, was transformed through redevelopment into a cluster of skyscrapers. The Shinjuku Mitsui Building was one of the high-rises built early in that process, forming the backbone of the district’s skyline.

An expression drawn by vertical lines

The exterior is composed of repeated thin vertical lines, and the shadows shift with the viewing angle. At a time when office buildings over 50 stories were far from ordinary, realizing a workplace at this height was itself an achievement of the era.

At its base, plazas and atrium spaces create an opening amid the canyon of buildings. Rather than simply stacking height, the building also offers room at ground level where people can linger — another of its characteristics.

Summary

The Shinjuku Mitsui Building is an office building completed in 1974, with 55 floors above ground, 3 below, and a height of 223.6 meters. Born of Mitsui Fudosan’s development, it is an essential building for telling the history of West Shinjuku’s transformation from a former water-plant site into a high-rise district.

When you look up at the cluster of high-rises in West Shinjuku, noticing which is among the earliest brings the making of the district into clearer, more three-dimensional view.