森ビル | DESIGNING TOKYO | 2022
Traveling 58 years in two minutes, from 1956 to 2014 / Mori Building "DESIGNING TOKYO"
In two minutes and five seconds, it travels back through 58 years. From Nishi-Shimbashi in 1956 to Toranomon Hills in 2014, six Mori Building projects are stitched together as if in a single continuous shot. Sayoko Yamaguchi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takashi Murakami all drift onto the screen looking just as they did at the time. At some point you stop caring whether it's CG or real footage.
The problem
Mori Building has been redeveloping central Tokyo ever since its founding in 1959. Ark Hills, Roppongi Hills, Omotesando Hills, Toranomon Hills — each one was meant to propose the "next Tokyo" of its era, yet public perception has stayed stuck at "a company that builds buildings." This brand film was made to close that gap.
The insight
What Mori Building has actually been building all along isn't buildings — it's the people and culture that gather around them. In the Laforet Harajuku era, Harajuku culture appears on screen; in the Roppongi Hills era, it's contemporary art. Rather than a timeline of buildings, this is a history of the pull that the city of Tokyo itself has always had.
The idea
From planning to release took about a year: ten days of filming, five months of CG production, and 318 people appearing on screen. The buildings were reconstructed from photos and blueprints of the time, and the people were brought back to life using old footage and photos, staff who knew the makeup styles of each era, and even 3D scans of mannequins. Motion-control camera work was combined with large-scale location shoots and aerial footage, and seamless transitions with glitch noise were used to create a look unlike an ordinary corporate film.
What happened
It won Bronze at Cannes Lions, Gold at The One Show, Gold at D&AD Awards 2020, and Silver at the New York ADC Awards. It was released online in August 2019 (month 8), and a 60-second version aired on TV in December (month 12) of that year.
Afterthought
I held my breath the moment the 1956 cityscape appeared at the start. I couldn't believe the past could be recreated with such care. City-building is supposed to be work aimed at the future, yet this film couldn't exist without such deep respect for the past. It made me realize that what Mori Building has really been building all along isn't buildings — it's eras.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Bronze
