The cocoon tower

A very unique piece of architecture is going to open soon at Shinjuku. The cocoon tower is designed by KENZO TANGE ASSOCIATE. It is 50 stories and 203m high. There will be 3 vocational schools and about 10 thousand students in the tower. Among the 3 vocational schools, the fashion school is the oldest, so the concept of the tower is a cocoon producing silk. The round silhouette and white lines which cover the tower look like a cocoon.

The cocoon tower provokes active debates over the pros and cons by it's design. In my opinion, it's design is not good but important for Shinjuku.

To get closer to the tower, the white lines are not a soft curve like silk but are a vivid stripe. At a glance,the facade is designed to give the building a natural look and feel like cocoon. However only 2 patterns are overlayerd and when view up close it looks too artificial. It makes me feel cheated.I think the design is not express cocoon's softness and complexity at all. It's too busy for me.

When you get far from the tower,the facade design fades out and you can see only the silhouette with the other towers in Shinjuku. In many cases, not only a single building but many silhouettes made by many buildings determine the city's image. Given this, the cocoon tower is a unique addition to Shinjuku skyline. I think the variety is the most appealing point of Shinjuku. In conclusion, the cocoon tower's design is not necessarily good but is important for Shinjuku.