Abstract
This spring, Tokyo opened a new city hall in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. This three-building complex, consisting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building, No. 2 Building and the Assembly Hall, is spread over three city blocks. The most prominent, 243 m-high Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building, is the tallest structure in Japan. Kenzo Tange Associates opted for a Super-frame Structure and applied lightweight concrete to slabs of the structure. In Japan, up to that time, it was impossible to directly transport concrete from the ground to a more than 200 m-high place by concrete pump. Engineers and researchers concerned with this construction were determined to meet the challenge of transporting concrete directly to the highest floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 243 m-high. By the effort of these engineers and researchers and by the development of a new concrete pumping machine, the transport and placing of concrete from the ground up to the 243 m-high place was accomplished. The construction of Tokyo Metropolitan Government was completed smoothly due to these efforts and technical developments.
