About Tenjin Business Center
Fukuoka was OMA’s only completed project in Japan until 2012. The Nexus World Housing project was built more than 25 years ago. Fukuoka Jisho, a local developer, commissioned Arata Isozaki to create a concept that promotes a “new urban lifestyle,” for which OMA was chosen to build a freestanding dwelling block as one of six architects.
© Tomoyuki Kusunose
Fukuoka, Japan’s seventh largest city, is noted for its distinct cultural character. Its central location among major East Asian cities makes the town a gateway into Japan, adding to its status as Kyushu Island’s economic core. Over the previous decade, the city has thrived, ranking strongly in livability, a ratio of the younger population, and a percentage of startups. © Tomoyuki Kusunose
Tenjin Business Center’s Design Concept
Tenjin Business Center represents a renewed commitment to urban development and growth like the Nexus World Housing complex. It also means the next phase of partnership between OMA, Fukuoka City, and Fukuoka Jisho. We think this initiative was made possible by the chance convergence of three persons of the same generation: Fukuoka native Shohei Shigematsu; Ichiro Enomoto, the current CEO of Fukuoka Jisho (son of Kazuhiko Enomoto, the former CEO who commissioned Nexus World Housing); and mayor Soichiro Takashima.
© Tomoyuki Kusunose
Tenjin Commercial Center will be the first project under the mayor’s Tenjin Big Bang program, w...