Shibuya Cast

Outline
Shibuya is undergoing a once-in-a-century redevelopment. As part of this massive urban shift, Shibuya Cast was built to bridge the gap between commerce and community, turning the site of a former municipal apartment into a new hub for the city’s creative class.

Question
How do you build a high-rise development that feels like a real neighborhood?

Challenge
The building sits at a unique intersection. The front faces the fashion-forward energy of Cat Street. The back immediately opens into quiet residential blocks. The challenge was to design a space that didn't just stack offices and apartments, but actively blended the people inside them.

Approach
They started before the building was even finished.
For the 13th-floor collective housing, they didn't just look for tenants. They launched a public competition—the "LIVE IN SHIBUYA AWARD"—asking future residents to pitch new ways of living together. To brand it, they turned the kanji for Shibuya (渋) into a vibrant textile pattern, wrapping the construction hoardings in a visual identity that felt like a cultural movement.

To tease the opening, they avoided typical architectural renderings.
Instead, they hired an indie artist from Portland, Oregon—a connection made during an early research trip on creative lifestyles. The artist drew massive, striking portraits of Japanese creators. Displayed on streets and train banners, these faces became a bold, imaginative hint of the energy the building would hold. By opening day, they unified the vision with three words: "WORK LIVE PLAY."

Once the doors opened, they turned the inside out.
They launched an editorial journal, featuring photography by acclaimed artist Masanori Ikeda. Rather than corporate press releases, they documented the real people using the building, proving the concept was alive.

But a true community space has to welcome everyone.
Not just the creative class. But the local students walking home. And the neighborhood grandfather stopping by the ground-floor supermarket for a carton of milk.

For the 2019 winter event, they completely reimagined the outdoor plaza under the concept of "MARKET PLAYCE."
They didn't build a typical commercial Christmas market.
They built a 20-meter-long kotatsu.
It was absurdly large. But completely intuitive.
Strangers sat down together. The initial tension of sharing a table with someone new quickly melted into warmth. Paired with an outdoor cinema and a tiny wooden popcorn stand, the cold concrete plaza was instantly transformed.

Ending
A massive urban development became a shared living room.
And a rapidly changing city remembered how to sit down together.