Construction of the Akihabara IT Center (tentative name) and UDX Building (tentative name) begins today

NTT Urban Development Corporation
Daibiru Co., Ltd.
Kajima Corporation

• Construction of the (tentative name) UDX Building is scheduled to begin in August 2003 and be completed in March 2006.
• Construction of Akihabara Daibiru began in May of this year and was completed in March 2005.
• Akihabara, the town of electronics, transforms into a global "IT hub" operating 24 hours a day

In February of last year, three developers, NTT Urban Development (President and CEO: Kiyoshi Mita, 25-5 Harakatacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), Daibiru (President and CEO: Tadakuni Hirose, 3-6-32 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka), and Kajima (President and CEO: Sadao Umeda, 1-2-7 Motoakasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo), won a public tender (competition) to develop a global base for IT-related industries on land owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Akihabara Blocks 1 and 3 (total area of 15,728 ^m2), and have been working on the design, permit and approval procedures.
Following on from the Akihabara Daibiru building, which began construction in May of this year, construction has finally begun this month on the Akihabara IT Center skyscraper (tentative name), the UDX Building (tentative name). A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the construction site from 10:45 a.m. today, and Minister of State Hosoda will be in attendance as a guest of honor at the celebration from 11:30 a.m.
The Akihabara Daibiru building is scheduled for completion in March 2005, and the (tentative name) UDX Building in March 2006.

The lower floors (1st to 4th floors) of the "(tentative name) UDX Building" will be positioned as "IT & customer attraction space," with part of it being made into a piloti space that will be open to the public, and will house a "food mall," "showroom," "digital workshop," "event space," "digital multi-function studio," etc. (The upper floors will be general tenant offices).
Additionally, the Akihabara Daibiru building will house industry-academia collaboration functions on its mid- to lower floors, providing a venue for cutting-edge research and education through industry-government-academia collaboration, as well as venture development functions, and will also house a convention hall (the higher floors will be general tenant offices). The building will house a data center to support the Akihabara IT Center (tentative name), and consideration is being given to supporting gigabit-class high-speed, large-capacity networks.
Furthermore, a deck will connect the Akihabara Daibiru Building and the (tentative name) UDX Building, facilitating smoother traffic flow between JR Akihabara Station and the Electric Town. (See reference materials for an overview of each function.)

Two skyscrapers suitable for an IT town will be constructed, with information infrastructure in place.

*The (tentative name) UDX Building will adopt a new real estate business scheme based on securitization, and the owner will be "UDX," an SPC (special purpose company under the Asset Liquidation Act) funded by NTT Urban Development and Kajima.

schedule

• August 2003: Construction of the UDX Building (tentative name)​ ​begins
• ◇ March 2005: Akihabara Daibiru completed
• ◇ March 2006: UDX Building (tentative name) completed

[Reference materials]

1. Customer attraction functions

The attraction of this project is a facility that will attract more visitors to Akihabara by exhibiting cutting-edge IT equipment. It will be a place where people of all ages who visit Akihabara can come into contact with and experience the latest IT equipment.

1. ■A large LED screen will be installed on the wall of the (tentative name) UDX Building facing the station square, and it will be a facility that strategically disseminates information to visitors to Akihabara. Wireless LAN service will be provided in the surrounding area, allowing tourists to receive and send information about the Akihabara area using mobile devices, etc.
2. ■The showroom will be a space where IT-related companies can exhibit and experience the latest IT equipment. Unlike traditional showrooms, the showroom will propose new lifestyles, such as information appliances that utilize IT networks.
3. ■The digital workshop will be aimed primarily at children, and will provide them with the opportunity to experience operating IT-related equipment and actually creating something based on IT, such as producing content and CG.The workshops will be conducted in collaboration with experts and facilitators in various fields.
4. ■A convention hall will be built on the lower floors of Akihabara Daibiru, where academic research presentations and corporate events can be held. Furthermore, the IT network will enable simultaneous events with other facilities. Similarly, there will be an event space in the center of the (tentative name) UDX Building, which can host a variety of events.
5. ■We are also considering the establishment of a multi-functional studio that can accommodate digitalization for broadband broadcasting, and a mini-theater where digital video can be produced and previewed. We are also considering a system where producers can train amateur creators.

2. Industry-government-academia collaboration function

We will establish an "Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration Center (tentative name)" to carry out cutting-edge research, education, and entrepreneurial support that will contribute to the accumulation and creation of industry. IT is now the foundation of all technology and industry, and this center will develop a base that will contribute to the creation and revitalization of new industries through IT-based technology, that is, IT-based cutting-edge technology.
The main themes of this center are "accumulating and sending/receiving components" and "creating informatics," taking advantage of Akihabara's unique characteristics. As a "component mecca," it will attract research projects on parts, devices, and materials, while also collecting cutting-edge components from around the world and disseminating the latest information on them. "Informatics" is a general term for new technologies created by combining existing technologies with information engineering/computer science. We aim to create this technology through collaboration between industry, government, and academia, and to be a base that will contribute to the development of new industries.
In addition, various functions will be established to support these efforts. In particular, support functions to reduce risks associated with the creation and revitalization of industries will be centralized. These functions are as follows:

• ■University Collaboration Park/Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration Park
  Cutting-edge research and education will be carried out through the accumulation of multiple graduate schools, laboratories, and research projects. Taking advantage of the close interaction between industry, government, and academia, which is difficult to achieve through existing on-campus facilities, the facility will carry out a variety of joint research projects and also provide "cutting-edge technology education through industry-government-academia collaboration" to researchers and engineers. It will also serve as a base for promoting technology transfer for the university's TLO, and as a base in Japan for overseas universities.
  On the other hand, it will also be used by companies and public research institutions as a venue for promoting industry-government-academia collaboration through research projects and other activities.
• ■Human resource development and activation
  By providing a wide range of cutting-edge IT and technical education through specialized education providers, we will cultivate human resources who will contribute to the creation and revitalization of industries.We will also provide "Lead Path Technology" education, which will lead to the creation of new industries, through industry-academia collaboration.
• ■Venture Development
  In supporting ventures, we will focus not only on incubation but also on fostering. In particular, we will have the function of undertaking business management operations according to the development stage, with a focus on supporting back-office management, which is a major risk for ventures.
• ■Information Exchange Center/Presentation Center
  In cooperation with the information network function, it receives and transmits information on the latest technologies and results created by each function of the Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Center.

3. Information network functions

1. ■Akihabara IT Information Center
   • We are considering making it possible to send and receive interactive information using a variety of media (large-screen, internet, mobile, etc.) that make full use of video and digital content, with a focus on the latest technological information from Akihabara (latest research results, new product information, etc.).
   • In addition, we will send and receive various local information in cooperation with nearby areas such as Akihabara Electric Town.
   • To support the infrastructure construction and operation of the (tentative name) Akihabara IT Center, we will provide IT infrastructure management, help desk services, etc.
2. ■Data Center
   • To support the activities of each function of the (tentative name) Akihabara IT Center, a data center adjacent to the city center will be constructed within the building, and cutting-edge IT infrastructure will be developed to meet the needs of the broadband era.
3. ■A place for learning and creativity
   • We will provide an internet cafe and a stage for hands-on IT experiences, allowing visitors to experience the latest IT technology and manufacturing.

(Expected future developments)
With the opening of the Tsukuba Express, a gigabit-class high-speed, large-capacity network will be established via optical fiber and other means.
It is expected to be positioned as an information hub by linking with the next-generation IX compatible with the network and IPV6, Tsukuba WAN, etc.