Osaka’s Gate Tower Building is an office tower with the Hanshin Expressway passing through its middle. Its unusual arrangement emerged from negotiations between road and building plans, making infrastructure and architecture share one urban site.
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Cars pass through the building, but the road does not rest on the offices around it. Gate Tower Building’s design separates the expressway from the structure, allowing two uses to occupy the same tight urban plot.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The building was completed in 1992 and has 16 floors.
- The Hanshin Expressway passes through the levels around floors five to seven.
- The roadway is structurally independent and does not touch the building.
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