I'd expect this to go up so much faster than an ordinary skyscraper because it lacks siding or cladding and the pieces look like they can be easily welded together. Guess not though, because the renderings show it taking 3 years.

It's gonna look REALLY cool from this angle.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/...c89c5f75_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesjustin/4203334130/

And another picture from New Year's Eve

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7858/pc312156dec31.jpg
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...46504&page=140

well you know what they say, it takes everyone else 1 years planning and 9 years building, but the Japanese do it 9 years planning and 1 year's building...

Some more pix, thanx to Momo1435:

http://i45.tinypic.com/jztf2p.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2mq7mro.jpg

Umm, you can say that again :worship:

It already looks spectacular (if not a bit scary), and it is still a sapling.

Holy Fucking Wow!

Must be at or near a supertall already, great looking in that photo above. wow.

wish we in America had that kind of "git er done" spirit like Tokyo seems to have with this tower.

If only Tokyo didn't have such a major earthquake threat. I honestly think that city would be the king of skyscrapers.

^totally. It does actually have the biggest buildings by average floorpsace in the world,
but they have to keep below a strict 750ft (or much lower) height limit. Thus they have
to spread outward more than up.

Towers such as the Mori have almost as much floorspace as the Sears Tower, but are
a fraction of the height:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Tower_Day.jpg


Even though theyre so tall, look how blocky, wide and conjoined the major office buildings are-
and with not a single tapering tower or spire due to optimisation of space.

http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/bluest...3/d3df585a.JPG


Anywhere else such as NYC or HK and these buildings would be half as wide and twice as tall, with many of them nearing supertall status:

http://building-pc.cocolog-nifty.com...yosiodome4.jpg


In short if it weren't for the height limits Tokyo would have the tallest skyline I'm sure. Huge demand for
office space (more Global 500 companies than anywhere else) combined with land prices at a premium,
in a very crowded city, and the natural progression would have been to build skyhigh - unless youre in a seismic zone.

I'm glad to see some more posts in this topic now. This thing is absolutely gigantic period. Then, when taking into consideration Tokyo's relatively low building height, this thing is even more amazing. At 333m, Tokyo Tower has been the tallest thing in the city BY FAR since it was built in the 50s. Tokyo Sky Tree is planned to be 634m, almost DOUBLE the height of Tokyo's tallest structure.

Plus, the Sky Tree is only at 254m currently and look how much it dominates the landscape already. Its going to be scare tall.

Also, you can check the official website (http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/) to see how far along they are. I don't know how accurate it is though.

Great stuff. Thanks. The structure looks great so far.

Yay, my old hood! Spent most of the second half of '09 living in the left of the area in the picture.

muppet
Your post was very interesting.

I hadn't realized the extreme height restrictions in Toyko.
The 'bulky' buildings you pointed out with the extreme floor spaces
actually have a solid beauty all their own.

Again, I appreciate your enlightening post.

Just to illustrate the ridiculous height difference between the Sky Tree and Tokyo's current tallest tower and building:

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/486/tstcomaprison.jpg

I can't wait to travel back to Tokyo to get to the top of this thing. Tokyo Tower's observatory is embarrassing by comparison. I can't imagine the hit that tower is going to take financially once this is completed. Its only saving grace is that it is located much more in the "heart" of the city than the Sky Tree.

As far as observation, you are already better off going to Mori Tower than Tokyo Tower. For one, it is not as busy, and another, it is outdoors on the rooftop. With a perfect view of the Tokyo Tower! It's like going to Rockefeller Center instead of the Empire State Building... so you can get ESB in your picture. As far as new Tokyo Tower, yeah, there really isn't much to see there. But it will be high up! :P

I think I am going to start a discussion in city discussions on Tokyo's height limits now. :tup:

Edit: Nevermind. Doesn't feel justified.

This things is an absolute BEAST! Tokyo deserves at least 1 tall structure even if it isn't a real building. A city as big as that needs some sky-props from the world. :cheers:

How tall in feet is it currently? 900-1100, somewhere in that range maybe?
Anyone know?

833' (254m)

You lived in Tokyo? And still so young...:worship: -Studying?

Ya, I really wish I would have gone up Mori Tower when I was there. Unfortunately, at the time I didn't really know much about buildings in Tokyo. Can anyone familiar with the area the Sky Tree is going up in be able to guess what kind of views it will offer and of what areas?