Project Introduction
With Japan facing population decline and aging communities, government agencies and real estate developers are prioritizing the sustainable development of suburban neighborhoods. In this context, Laguarda.Low Architects designed and planned Grandberry Park, a park-style commercial complex renovation project.
Bird’s-eye view of Hejian Park © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Project Overview
Located in Minamachida City, just a 30-minute drive from central Tokyo, the project spans the Minamachida Station on the Tokyu Rural Urban Line, a commercial park, and the adjacent Tsuruma Park. This unique site serves as the foundation for Minamachida City’s vision to create a “new urban lifestyle.” Grandberry Park is a community-friendly urban hub that combines retail, parking, community activities, and social venues, offering a fresh concept for both tourists and local residents.
△ Project location map © LLA
Venue location © LLA
Overall bird’s-eye view – Image courtesy of Machida City, Japan
Design Philosophy
From the outset, the design aimed to create a new experience that diverges from traditional leisure shopping environments by integrating architecture with the site’s natural surroundings. The existing natural elevation changes are embraced, connecting three distinct zones — the station, commercial space, and park — via large staircases, green roofs, and landscaping. This forms three unique, atmospheric sub-areas.
Seven open plazas are interspersed among retail stores within the central business park, allowing visitors to enjoy a natural environment throughout their shopping experience.
△ Overall plan © LLA
Bird’s-eye view of Hejian Park © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Visitors can relax on benches, watch public performances, or enjoy picnics with family and children on the lawns. Grandberry Park’s design creates an open space that seamlessly integrates commercial activities, transportation facilities, and surrounding communities. It encourages free gathering and fosters a vibrant, diverse community space. People can enjoy engaging experiences here year-round.
△ Green grass slope roof connected to Hejian Park – bird’s-eye view © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Entrance grass slope roof connected to Hejian Park © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Entrance grass slope roof facing Hejian Park © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Business Park
The commercial park consists of multiple low-rise buildings surrounding a central multi-story parking structure. Shops and services are arranged around the parking building in a compact layout, creating a circular commercial route. This design minimizes walking distances between parking and retail areas and eliminates dead ends, enhancing circulation and maximizing flexible future use.
The second-floor pedestrian flow is integrated with the building design, maintaining the character of a “village settlement” scaled for pedestrians, while harmonizing with the surrounding residential landscape.
△ Commercial Block – Aerial View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Elevation drawing © LLA
△ Commercial Block – Night View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial district © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial district © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial district © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial Block – Night View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial Block – Night View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Main Fountain Square and Grand Staircase – Night View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Main Fountain Square and Grand Staircase – Night View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Main Fountain Square and Grand Staircase © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Central Gathering Market © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Sustainable Design
Minamachida Station on the Tokyu Rural Urban Line, a key entrance to the park and a focal point of the renovation, offers a transitional experience with a stepped garden landscape and a small waterfall representing the Kagawa River. Visitors arriving at the station first enter a park-like environment, ascend a landscaped staircase, and reach the elevated commercial park.
The Grandberry Park project incorporates various sustainable design strategies focused on high efficiency and energy conservation. It has earned two Gold-level certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council: LEED for New Buildings and LEED for Green Communities.
Since opening, Grandberry Park has received widespread media recognition in Japan as a leading suburban shopping and leisure destination near Tokyo. It was honored with the Urban Landscape Award from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
△ Entrance grass slope roof connected to Hejian Park © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Exit of Tokyu Tianyuan Urban Line Station – Aerial View © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Tokyu Tianyuan Urban Line Station Platform © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Exit of Tokyu Tianyuan Urban Line Station © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Exit of Tokyu Tianyuan Urban Line Station © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
△ Commercial block leading to the station – green ecological wall © Chuancheng Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Project Information
Project Name: Grandberry Park Commercial Complex, Minamachida, Japan
Owner: Tokyu Group
Address: 4-1 Tsuruma 3-chome, Machida City, Tokyo, Japan
Scale: 70,000 square meters
Completion: November 2019
Design Company: LLA Architectural Design Company / Laguarda.Low Architects (LLA), www.laguardalow.com
LLA Design Scope: Overall planning, architectural design
Lead Designers: Pablo Laguarda, Ken Shigematsu
Main Design Team Members: Christopher Powers, Anastasia Stepanova, Georgina Lalli, Wonshok Lee, and others
Project Website: www.minamimachida-grandberrypark.com
Photographer: Kawashiro Kobayashi Kenji Photography Office
Landscape Design: Fd Landscape
Local Design Institute: Tokyu Architects & Engineers Inc.
General Contractor: Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd
Project Awards: LEED Gold Certification, Urban Landscape Award from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Green Wall Excel Soil: Green Project__
Façade: Earth Rock (__AI_ST_URL_0)__
Wood Panel: Western Red Cedar (https://takahiro-mokuzai.co.jp/)
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