Gate Tower Building

The Gate Tower Building in Osaka's Fukushima district is an office building completed in 1992 and known for its extraordinary architecture. The Hanshin Expressway's Ikeda Route runs directly through the circular structure between the fifth and seventh floors without touching it, since the bridge piers stand outside the building. This innovative solution emerged after years of negotiations between the landowners and the expressway operator, because the original building permits had been denied due to the planned route. In 1989, the case led to a revision of Japanese building and urban planning laws to make this kind of integration of infrastructure and architecture legally possible. The building itself is made of fiber-reinforced concrete with steel girders, has 16 floors, and features a helipad on the roof. Here you can experience a one-of-a-kind interplay of urban mobility and architecture: the expressway section is encased in soundproofing, and the elevators pass through the affected floors without stopping.