As part of the ongoing redevelopment of the Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome district in Chiyoda-city, Tokyo Prefecture (announced in 2022 as the TOKYO CROSS PARK Vision), construction of the "NTT Hibiya Tower (Central Tower)," broke ground in December. It is being developed in the Central Zone, mainly by the NTT Group. On December 8, NTT President and CEO Akira Shimada and NTT Urban Solutions President and CEO Kou Ikeda held a press conference to unveil plans for the tower, which is scheduled for completion in late October 2031.
The Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome district, where the tower will be located, is one of the core hubs in central Tokyo. It is set to be transformed into a next-generation smart city that will enable public-private collaboration and co-creation with companies and research institutions.
The NTT Group outlined its vision for future development as follows: the tower will be used as a field for demonstration and implementation toward the realization of a "City of Light". It is powered by IOWN and will deliver unprecedented new value, achieving remarkable ultra-low power consumption. Insights gained through these efforts will be applied to surrounding areas, throughout Japan, and globally.
The first phase of the Initiative will be implemented at the tower, which is being developed with NTT Urban Development Corporation and TEPCO Power Grid, Incorporated serving as project owners. This effort will play a role in realizing the next-generation smart city vision outlined for the Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome district redevelopment.
Shimada stated, "Hibiya has long been a place of deep significance for us since Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT) established its headquarters there in 1961. NTT plans to relocate its headquarters to the tower to be built there. By bringing together the technological capabilities and expertise cultivated across the NTT Group, it aims to deliver unprecedented new value and achieve remarkable ultra-low power consumption. Through co-creation with partner companies, we seek to integrate diverse insights and cutting-edge technologies to help build a more sustainable, people-centric, and vibrant society."
Japan currently faces a range of serious societal challenges, including labor shortages driven by a declining birthrate and aging population, global warming caused by climate change, and increasingly frequent natural disasters. Addressing these issues to build a sustainable society has become an urgent priority. Simultaneously, while the growing adoption of AI, robotics, and mobility technologies is enriching daily life, the sharp rise in power consumption associated with these advancements is a major concern.
To confront these challenges, the NTT Group is working to transform society using "IOWN," a next-generation information and communications platform designed to process massive volumes of data with high capacity, low latency, and low power consumption.
By supporting society through this advanced infrastructure, the NTT Group seeks to address challenges across a wide range of fields, including operational efficiency and automation for enterprises, disaster and climate prediction, and automated control of infrastructure and the environment.
In the field of urban development as well, the use of photonics and other advanced technologies aims to enhance quality of life. It contributes to the creation of a safer, more secure, and more sustainable society. This tower project represents a significant step toward that goal.
The tower will have a total floor area of approximately 361,000 square meters and a height of approximately 230 meters. It will be a high-rise building with 48 floors above ground, 6 basement levels, and 2 penthouse levels. The upper floors will house a hotel, while other floors will accommodate offices, industrial support facilities, a hall, retail, and banquet spaces.
Ikeda explained the tower's vision: "Through the implementation of IOWN and other advanced technologies, together with co-creation with partner companies, we aim to deliver the following value."
New business and innovation
With IOWN implemented throughout the tower, real-time collaboration with partners around the world becomes possible, supporting innovative and creative corporate activities.
In addition to spatial transmission enabled by IOWN, the use of services that integrate the latest technologies, such as the NTT-developed LLM "tsuzumi 2" and the large-scale AI collaboration technology "AI Constellation," will enhance efficiency and productivity for both organizations and office workers. This work towards facilitating cross-border co-creation.
Looking ahead, ideas generated during meetings will be easily transformed into models, and the services of the tower will play multiple roles—such as advisor, concierge assisting with actions, or consultant retrieving and presenting relevant materials. By supporting more creative and strategic activities than ever before, the tower offers an environment that maximizes worker performance.
New lifestyles and entertainment experiences
By connecting cities and areas around the world in real time through IOWN, entirely new lifestyle and entertainment experiences can be realized.
At the lower levels of the tower, the large-scale passage and atrium space "Cross Gate (tentative name)" is seamlessly linked to Hibiya Park. It will house an expansive indoor presentation and entertainment environment featuring integrated large LED displays across its walls and ceiling.
For example, the space can be used to host simultaneous announcements of new products and services to audiences across Japan and around the world. This further can support brand-building advertising initiatives, as well as holding integrated events in collaboration with the commercial facilities on the lower floors. Even when an event is not taking place, the space will function as a place for office workers and visitors to work and relax.
In the future, it will become possible to offer a wide range of experiences tailored to different purposes by integrating technologies that create deeper immersion, such as "Acoustic XR" which blends NTT's real and virtual sound experiences. These may include collaborative video galleries and art exhibitions linked with venues around the world, as well as interactive games and attractions.
Sustainability through ultra-low power consumption
A sustainable society will be supported through the provision of emerging value, including new businesses and lifestyles. These are all enabled by the tower's building performance and advanced energy technologies. As a specific example, the office floors can achieve "ZEB Ready" by reducing the energy consumption required for a conventional building to less than 50 percent through design innovations in building specifications.
In addition to the exceptional ultra-low power consumption enabled by photonic-electronic convergence devices, AI based on IOWN will provide future prediction and optimal control of building systems. Through "Just Enough Energy," which balances energy efficiency and occupant comfort, operational efficiency will be maximized. This may result in a 10 to 20 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions. The use of clean energy will further contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality.
Additional advancements will be pursued moving forward, including operational efficiency improvements enabled by emerging technologies such as optical quantum computing, alongside the exploration of next-generation clean energy sources such as hydrogen.
This article has been translated by JST with permission from The Science News Ltd. (https://sci-news.co.jp/). Unauthorized reproduction of the article and photographs is prohibited.