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Photography｜1：エスエス／SS｜2：新建築社写真部／Shinkenchiku-sha都市空間・パブリックスペースへのパラダイムシフト日本初の200m超えの超高層ビルは、未知なるものへの幾多の探求と挑戦の末、当時の技術革新／イノベーションによって実現しました。　竣工から20数年が経過した1990年代中頃、ビル風や天候に悩まされた足元空地の環境改善と周辺地域含めた活性化を目指して、最初のアトリウム設置案が構想されました。しかしこの構想は、当時の都市計画との乖離が埋められず、長年実現の目途が立たずにいました。　その後、分断されていた新宿駅東西地区をつなぐ東西自由通路構想から、新宿中央公園に至る地域の活性化の機運が高まってきたこと、東日本大震災等を経て都市におけるパブリックスペースの評価など社会的要請の変化もあり、法規上、技術上の課題等を乗り越え、再び革新／リ・イノベーションによって今回の大改修が実現しました。今回の取組みは今後の超高層のリノベーションに大きな可能性を開くことができたと確信しています。Urban/Public Space: A Paradigm ShiftThe construction of Japan’s first 200-meter-plus high-rise building was a venture into the unknown, made possible through innovation and the use of new technologies to tackle numerous challenges. In the mid-1990s, two decades after the building’s comple-tion, an atrium was conceived to improve the environment around the building podium, use of which had been troubled by eddies of wind and inclement weather, and revitalize the sur-rounding area. Because the concept diverged from contempo-rary urban planning regulations, however, it was not realized. Later, when the concept of a free passage linking Shinjuku Station’s East and West sides took hold, ideas for revitalizing the area leading up to Shinjuku Central Park gained momen-tum. These were further explored after the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), which changed how public space was evaluated as well as its role in society. Legal and technical hurdles were overcome, and through “re-innovation,” the current refurbishments were realized. We believe this project has opened up tremendous potential for future high-rise building renovation projects.072020 AUTUMN44Feature | WORKS