Osaka World Trade Center
Osaka, Japan

HEIGHT: 252m/827 feet
FLOORS: 55 floors
COMPLETION: 1995
ARCHITECT: ?

The WTCO is an office building which incorporates a series of public spaces such as shops, restaurants, bars, banquet and convention halls, the WTCO club, an auditorium and an observation platform in the form of a pyramid from which the whole bay can be seen.
The building incorporates a highly sophisticated technology which, by means of an IT system, regulates all the electricity and water systems. It is currently the tallest building on the west coast of Japan and has become a visual landmark of the coastal silhouette and the region of Kansai.

http://arch.hku.hk/~cmhui/japan/nanko/nankoex4.jpg

http://arch.hku.hk/~cmhui/japan/nanko/nankoex3.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics01/osakawtc01_filtered_filtered.jpg

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cj4n-nkmc/nike-wtc10.jpg

http://arch.hku.hk/~cmhui/japan/nanko/nankoex5.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics01/osakawtc02_filtered.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics01/osakawtc03_filtered.jpg

8/10 nice, especialy at night.

Nice at night. During day too. 10/10!

This skyscraper is great at night

http://members8.tsukaeru.net/atnight/night_view/photo/west03.jpg


http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~nm6f-nkmc/osaka-yakei0004.JPG

One of my favourites in Japan. 8.9/10

The crown feature on the roof tops this building very well.

9/10

very imposing design, looks great at night!...9/10

just not my style, i think the triangle ruins it

nice top 8.5

(sorry I voted for 3 or less cos I've planned to vote for 8.5 and then I wanted to press the vote button but I got the 3 or less button and then the Vote Sorry :))

8/10

Classy and unique-looking because of that diamond thingy on top.
It also looks superb at night..not tacky at all.

Nice! This one looks great at night...8.5/10

Unusual and very nice design. Looks really good at night

Nice one! I like the robotic look with the triangular "head" above the "shoulders" of the building. It is also known as Cosmo Tower.
8.5/10

Very nice design.

9/10

There must be a specific term for the 'robot-morphing-into-something-else-again' type of architecture. Hrmmmm.

Yes, this is good architecture and Nikken Sekkei are quite capable of delivering. A very attractive modern piece.

9

Very modern and futuristic building...
I love it...9.5/10

Really nice design. One of my favourite in Japan !
9/10

Intriguing and fitting for Osaka. Gave it an 8.5.

very colorful night shots . . ill give it an 8/10:D

Well I like the proportions and detailing, and I'm a sucker for light shows, so it gets an 8!

8/10. Very cool at night!

8.5/10

8/10 - It has good height, helped by the vertical setbacks and the white mullions that race up the sides.
The mullions also provide a good contrast to the darker glass of the facade.
The crown I can't quite make up my mind about, but if (as the cross section seems to indicate) there's a walkway up to the top, that gets it extra credit for providing what must be a really impressive stroll...
Plus, they've done a really good job with the night lighting.
One quibble - the tower is a bit chunky broadside on; perhaps it could use a few horizontal setbacks. And I might have to see it in person to decide how well base and tower fit together.
You're right, fellow posters, the overall afftect IS a bit robotic...
:borgsmile

8/10
Interesting design, unique, sleek. Beautiful as it pierces the
dark of night. I just wish it was located in the downtown area
of Osaka. I saw it from the freeway on my way from the
Osaka Airport to downtown. This building would've added so
much to the main skyline of Osaka. It sure stands out being
where it is.

very futuristic looking

8/10

quite impressive, but not my type 6/10

7/10

Not bad.

Good points Liz, took most of the words out of my mouth.

7.5/10

7, good design, but some of the pics make it look small, while some give the impression that its tall

I don't want to repeat everyone else but this tower looks really good at night :) And the top of the building is quite original and fits the building well.

9.0/10

The top looks like a airport control tower. But I like it.

8 A pretty good looking building

Expresses strength and quality.

Looks massive :eek:

9.5/10 great :cool:

Weird but interesting.. I don't like the look of it in the day, but at night it rocks! :D :guns1:

8.5/10

Can you say "Mecha" scraper? 8/10 Looks best at night !!!

8.5

.5 for the lightings

one of those scrapers that looks much better at night. very innovative design especially the roof terrace and observation deck walkway. 7.5/10

Cool building, 8/10

5/10

I should have voted lower, I hate it.

10/10

One of my most favourite building

9/10
Really futuristic design, and the colours are great, especially at night.

:okay:

7.5/10 :)

7.5/10

9.5/10 beautiful

Looks modern!

Not some thing i like
Dont care for the simiple shapes jsut me
Score some points for being diff and land makr in great city

Royalty is best left to the Europeans.

7/10 for it's sleekness.

2nd pic is the best. 9/10!

7.5/10 Nice facade.

9/10 beautiful at night

8/10


the tower is nice, but that thing on the top.

8/10
Thin, tall & sleek tower, the design is okay.

It is very ugly, I do not like it 3/10

the inverted triangular pyramid gives it a rather airport control tower look. but everything else works for me. why was it built in the middle of nowhere and not in downtown?

7.5

this is a wonderful skyscraper, i just wish it'd have been built in umeda, instead of miles out in osaka bay....if umeda had this, the rinku gate tower (850 feet as well), the Mizuno Tower and the ORC towers, and the towers located in OBP then Umeda would be a world class skyline....certainly on a par with singapore or frankfurt.....instead umeda is a bit of a mess....the umeda sky building deserves better neighbours....

the WTC would have accompanied it very well indeed. i'll give the skyscraper 9/10...its wonderful...its just the location is awful.

went up it the thing made me sick !
First time tower did that

Strong presence and dynamic lighting...7/10

7/10. Nice facade:)

7/10

5/10

An average building. I like the shape and especially the corner setbacks and the mostly dark facade. But the contrast is too much for me, I would like it a little subtler, plus the diamond (triangle?) on top bugs me. I like the base of the building, but its weird facade and odd placement out from the other talls detract from it for me.

average! 5

7.5/10
Quite nice. Looks great at night.

7/10

nice building 7

7

I agree that it looks 4x better at night. The top is only attractive when dark and only from certain angles. Otherwise, it looks like it was just pasted on there. From some of the pics, looks like its surroundings could be improved as well

Nice 8/10

It's very cool expecially at night!! 8.5/10

It's okay....
It looks kind of lonely :pet:
I like the green lights at night; they compliment the style.

5/10

its ok, but not the best

8

really nice!

Looks so cool at night ,
but during day , it look like a common building which can see everywhere .... 8/10

Kitsch but cool

9

5/10 - as much as I love Osaka's skyline, this building doesn't appeal to me.

Mmmmm....6/10 Could do with spire.

By all means the greatest skyscraper in Southern Japan. It'll get an 8.5/10 from me. Go Osaka!!!

I like the tower but i hate the stupid thing perched on top.

8/10 for the tower

3/10 including the top bit.

Nice futuristic building ,love the lights 8/10

8/10

I guess the idea was to have a lot of sharp angles ?
It doesn't look bad, although not my type ;-)
Futuristic look, but the red paint at the top doesn't do good by day. Great night look, on the other hand.
7.

interesting. looks kinda like an air-traffic control tower :D 8/10

7.5/10

I've never seen or heard of this tower before.
7.5

It look like a futuristic building that wants to destroy....

8 from me

too crazy and weird, I hate the top
5/10

5/10

I hate that top and the building's shape could be much better.

7/10.

8/10

6.5/10

7.

wow 9/10

Interesting design, but I don't like the top. Because it looks great at night I'll give it 8/10

nice one, 8.5/10

8/10

8/10

I don't like this. That thing on top looks stupid. 4/10.

9.5/10

5/10

I gave it a 9. It really has it style, I like it. Really puts in shame many all over the world, and not only because its haight.

:eek: :rock: :eek:

7!

8/10.

Different isn't it. I like it for some reason. 8/10

This is a good one 8.5

strange one but ok. 8/10

I hate such crowns on skyscrapers
5.5/10

7/10

8/10 Not bad

8/10

5.5/10

8/10

9/10 :)

Nice lighting and facade. 8/10

Unusual pyramid on the top
8.5/10

7.5/10.

i love OSAKA. osaka raining blues. la la la 8/10.

Nice./...

Nice. 9/10

very strange 6/10

9.5/10, nothing is perfect but (Tokyo, yes) :)

Very nice builgind, at night too much.

very nice 8/10

Too complex design for me. The coulourscheme doesn't match either.
6.5/10

9/10 very good

5.5/10 thats all

Very japanese,very transformer. 8/10

6/10

I hate that thing at the top

8.5/10

5 from me, looks a bit bulky and plain.
The redeeming feature for me is it's ability to look like a giant transformer, watch out Osaka!

9/10 very futuristic looking. Looks great at night too

nice 8/10

5,5/10

6/10.....

like this building 8/10

8.5/10.

Ok.. not really my type though.

Looks beautiful. :okay:

6.5/10

Tries to be cool but it has no special abilities to reach it. Even original and mixed top doesn't rescute this building :|...At night...it's missing for LAS VEGAS NEON...5/10

Like it ,looks huge and impressive strange roof but ok I guess 8/10

not bad. 8/10

cool design 9/10

Great tower!Great illumination...
9/10

Awesome design, and cool at night... 9/10.

7/10

3/10

I hope the architect of this building isn't teaching architecture in Japan or China or Taiwan or ... anywhere else in the world.

7.5/10

9/10 better in person!

8/10

9/10

9/10

9.5 superb but boxy!

It looks beautiful at night, 9/10

The crown on the roof looks out of place. Facade could have been better.

6.5/10

it would be a great tower without the tri-top
8/10

4.5/10

This one is simply disgusting.... The facade looks ugly, the strange thing on top doesn't match a bit and the illumination at night doesn't look that special ... Sorry, but I merely hate this building. :dunno::toilet:

8.5/10

WHat's that ugly thing on the roof??? otherwise, not bad... 7.5/10

10/10;)

7/10 The UFO looking thing on top just completely ruins the balance of this building.

7.5/10
nice at night

3/10

Why is that Japan, a first world country, has so many poorly designed highrises?

0 / 10

Ridiculous design. I'm beginning to think that Japan is one of the reasons why so many Chinese architects are messing up the roofs of new highrises in China - they learned their "craft" in Japan. Then throw in the ugly traditional Chinese architectures and bad influences - Viola! Bad architectures everywhere in the country.

0 / 10

Ridiculous design. I'm beginning to think that Japan is one of the reasons why so many Chinese architects are messing up the roofs of new highrises in China - they learned their "craft" in Japan. Then throw in the ugly traditional Chinese architectures and bad influences - Viola! Bad architectures everywhere in the country.

Don't forget Australia and "modernist" influences from some European schools.

Of course, China has never been known for upscale, functional and elegant architectures. The Great Wall and Forbidden Palace are examples of large scale projects accomplished through brute force, without a hint of the artistic and technological supremacy found in European architectures.

5/10

[QUOTE=hans gruber;11566212]Don't forget Australia and "modernist" influences from some European schools.

and you get this information from ?????

[QUOTE=hans gruber;11566212]Don't forget Australia and "modernist" influences from some European schools.

and you get this information from ?????

It's common knowledge that many mainland Chinese have "fled" to Australia for higher education over the past decade.

OK so maybe many of them are more interested in immigration than education but still many did attend college and a portion of those (with more "back door" connections or too incompetent to get a job in Australia) have returned to China after graduation.

Sorry to say it but with so many 2nd rate and 3rd rate architectures, Australia couldn't have claimed to have provided architecture students with much of an enlightenment or good inspiration. It's not a coincidence that many buildings in China bear close resemblence to some buildings in Australia. Mainland Chinese students aren't known for their independent, analytical and original thinking, much less creativity. They memorize and they copy. They copy architectural designs of Japan, Australia, America and Europe.

You aren't disputing that are you?

7,5/10

would be a 8.5 but that weird thing on top...
8
instantly recognizable though...

i'm sorry but the top has got to go. it doesn't fit well.....it seems cumbersome and weighty. If that top were gone it would get a 8.5 but no no no no no......7

3 / 10

yack!

duplicate

1 / 10

0 / 10

4/10..the bottom and the top not match..too bad

0 / 10

Ridiculous design. I'm beginning to think that Japan is one of the reasons why so many Chinese architects are messing up the roofs of new highrises in China - they learned their "craft" in Japan. Then throw in the ugly traditional Chinese architectures and bad influences - Viola! Bad architectures everywhere in the country.

I doubt that the Japanese have had much to do with the proliferation of ugly buildings in China. The Chinese have always displayed a very bad taste in architectural designs throughout their history. Take the Great Wall and the Forbidden City for example. Both are seriously lacking in artistic merit and functionality. It's all about scale and brute force approach.

8/10

It does look better than the majority buildings in Osaka. Unfortunatley it does not mean much, since the majority of buildings in Osaka look terrible. If we are to take the tower out of context of the city it is just an ordinary buildig. Any nice tower in New York, Dubi or even London simply shadow this one in terms of aestetics. I assume the only criteria this buildig has an upper hand is still as "the nicest building in that part of Japan".

day time 8/10
nite time 9/10

9/10

not my style i think it's a bit ugly.4/10

10 - nice.

8.5/10

8/10 very cool lighting. unique design.

interesting, coool!!!! 9.5

10/10;)

Robotic.

7/10

awesome, modern 10/10

8/10

yes, cool at night

7/10

if its a highrise building, it's rating starts at 5.

8/10

9,5/10

8.0/10 :) .

Ok 8/10

8.5/10

8.5

the building kind of reminds of TRANSFORMER!

6.5/10 very weird

That top...don't like at all 6.5/10

8/10

Very cool. 9/10

9,5/10

4/10

i love japan, but not this

5/10

Good- 8/10

3/10

robot looking

sexy 9

Very interesting.

9/10

5/10

9/10

5/10

8/10

very modern 8/10

9/10

8/10

6/10 the tower is ok but the top butt ugly.

6/10

8/10

strange. 8

8.5/10

9/10

9/10

i'll go for 8/10...

9/10

6/10

I like it !

8.0/10

9. Very good building. Regards.

7/10

8/10

6/10

Seriously terrible, almost clownish. 4

7/10

8.0

8,5/10

6.5

6.5/10

i like it 9.5/10

Not my favourite style of architecture. 4/10

8/10

9/10

9/10

i thing it needs a different top, but its OK.
8.5

9/10

7/10

8.5/10

9/10

7.5/10

8/10

7/10

5.5