Harajuku is getting a new shopping complex with a rooftop vertical garden

It may have been a while since you last walked through Jingumae, Shibuya’s popular shopping district that’s normally teeming with people in pre-pandemic times. So long, perhaps, that you wouldn’t have seen an entire street corner being cleared of buildings on the main crossing between Harajuku and Omotesando. The corner, which was once home to the Condomania store before it was relocated, will soon host a brand new shopping complex, set to open in 2022. 

 

 

The shopping centre, whose name is still undecided, is part of the neighbourhood’s redevelopment project, following the construction of Harajuku’s new train station and the upscale With Harajuku mall. The new building, designed by architect Akihisa Hirata, will be 12 storeys high, including two basement levels. From the artist’s rendering, it looks like the top floors will be reserved for a multi-level terrace featuring a vertical garden – something Hirata often incorporates into his projects. 

 

 

While the structure is expected to take up 3,085sqm on street level, it will have a total floor area of 19,930sqm. Similar to the photogenic entrance of Harajuku’s Tokyu Plaza, the new facility will feature mirror-like panels on its facade, which we think will make it an Instagram hit when it opens.

 

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