You Need To See This Stunning Origami-Inspired Building In Tokyo

An 11-storey building made from 5,315 aluminium panels has been unveiled in Ginza Crossing, considered the Times Square of Tokyo.

And it’s absolutely spectacular.

First planned back in 2012, this stunning, monumental structure is already turning heads. The huge area – 7350 square metres, to be exact – has been inspired by the Japanese folding art of origami, with diamond-shaped panels covering the beautiful building.

The architecture firm responsible for the incredible renovations is Tokyo-based Klein Dytham, who won a competition with its tradition-meets-ultra-modern design, and have acknowledged the massive pressure they were put under, given the immensely popular location. “We do a lot of buildings”, said co-founder Mark Dytham. “But if we got this wrong we’d have really messed up.”

Owned by Sapporo Brewing, the building is currently home to Nissan Crossing, with flagship stores for Nissan and Sony as well as a number of cafes, restaurants and more. Built in three parts, with glass coating covering each panel, the building was not only an aesthetic challenge, but a geographical one; Tokyo’s famous earthquakes meant that each of the thousands of diamond-shaped panels had to be at least 12mm away from the next, to avoid them scraping together during an earthquake.