4175
Global
Height rank

Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers

Nagoya
Height
1
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
170 m / 558 ft
1 Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
38
Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.
3
Height 170 m / 558 ft
Floors 38
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

2008

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Japan

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Nagoya

Address

4-27-1 Meieki

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Education

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

All-Steel

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

170 m / 558 ft

Helipad
Height, measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance, to the building's helipad.
162.4 m / 533 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

38

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

3

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

48,989 m² / 527,313 ft²

Rankings

#
4175
Tallest in the World
#
143
Tallest in Japan
#
9
Tallest in Nagoya

Construction Schedule

2005

Construction Start

2008

Completed

Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Owner/Developer
Mode Gakuen
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

Obayashi Corporation
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Steel
Kawada Industries

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2009 Award of Excellence

2009 CTBUH Awards

 

CTBUH Initiatives

Twisting Tall Buildings

18 August 2016 - CTBUH Research

 

Research

29 July 2019

Highest Special-Purpose Spaces

Since humans first began constructing tall buildings, history has been cluttered with claims of all manner of “highest” records. In this study, we examine those...

About Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers

Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers is located on a busy main street of Nagoya City in front of Nagoya Station. The building houses three vocational schools; Mode-Gakuen for fashion, HAL for information technology and design, and ISEN for medicine and welfare.

The design of a spiral shaped building was created to reflect the strong vision of Masaru Tani, President of Mode Gakuen. It was thought that the unusual twisting shape would promote an environment for fostering creativity within the schools. Furthermore, the concept for the tower is derived from the enthusiasm of the students from the three schools, twisting and rising up into the sky, then soaring out into the real world.

The Spiral Towers have become a new landmark for Nagoya City. The unique design of the three wings of the tower, twisted in helical form, appear to change shape when viewed from different angles, giving an elegant yet dynamic impression. In addition, a soft silhouette of the building resembling the bottom of a dress in 3-dimensional form brings the city a rich image and a new face. A sunken garden was also created at the bottom of the building, to connect the underground and ground levels.

The Spiral Towers achieve high seismic capacity through a strong inner truss tube and two vibration damping systems that self-adjust and sway against the movement of the building according to its natural period; vibration-damping columns efficiently absorb seismic energy by means of viscosity dampers which are installed at 26 points on the periphery, and there is also a mass damper located on the rooftop. Quantitative analysis has confirmed that deformation during an earthquake is reduced by up to 20% compared with the non-inclusion of damping systems.

Double-glazed windows and air-flow windows are employed to reduce heat loads created by the sun around the perimeter zone. A District Heating System is tapped into for both heating and cooling, with the facility located on the near east side of Nagoya Station. Even though the tower is spiral shaped, the structure allows the energy supply to be distributed efficiently and is enhanced through the use of strategically placed inner tubes located in the center core. This concept improves overall energy usage and upgradeability.

In addition, high-efficiency lighting equipment, outdoor air cooling systems, and cooler fan rotation control have been applied for energy saving. For contribution to the community, a rainwater tank is located within an underground pit to reduce the impact of the sewerage system overspilling in torrential rains.

The design was planned to optimize the pedestrian network and spaces around the Nagoya Station area. As a result, the streets see a unified setback to the building walls, with vegetation planted and sidewalk areas widened. In addition, a café and retail stores are placed in front of the building to activate the ground plane, as an anticipated 8,000 students will commute to the school and thus enliven this area of the city.

While the twisting building form is not new to high-rise design, Spiral Towers presents a consistency and richness in its development both structurally and aesthetically. The form works beyond just the sculptural aspect when viewed on the skyline, and the programming of the space within the tower is carefully planned and organized such that the users are aware of this twisting form, even from within.

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2009 Award of Excellence

2009 CTBUH Awards

29 July 2019

Highest Special-Purpose Spaces

Since humans first began constructing tall buildings, history has been cluttered with claims of all manner of “highest” records. In this study, we examine those...

19 September 2012

Tall Buildings in Future Development of Metropolitan Universities

Christopher Groesbeck, VOA Associates; Jon DeVries & John McDonald, Roosevelt University; Ron Klemencic, MKA

In the future, the University will need to consider vertical models to co-exist within their urban cores and create a living and working balance. With...