Fuji Television Headquarters Building

The Fuji Broadcasting Center, also called the FCG Building, is the headquarters of Fuji Television in Odaiba, a man-made island area of Tokyo, Japan. It is a complex of about 27 storeys and 123 metres high, finished in 1996. It was designed by the famous architect Kenzo Tange and was the last building he directly led, in a huge project.

The building is a landmark that symbolizes Odaiba. Its most famous feature is a giant silver ball, about 32 metres across, that hangs high between two towers. The ball is an observation deck, so you can look out over the Tokyo area from inside it.

What does the building look like?

The complex has an office tower and a media tower joined by three enclosed footbridges, so from far away it looks like a giant frame with a ladder shape. Its outside is covered with titanium that resists salt air from the nearby bay. Inside there are shopping areas on the first floor, a garden on the roof of the 7th floor, and a TV studio area said to be the largest of any Japanese commercial broadcaster.

The ball in the sky

The spherical observation room is called Hachitama, and it sits on the 25th floor level. The sphere weighs about 1,350 tons, and its centre of weight is off-centre, which made it very hard to lift into place. The building's design had to think about sound, too: it was built carefully to block radio waves and to keep studios quiet. Odaiba is a waterfront area, which is why the salt-resistant titanium skin matters. Odaiba is a waterfront area, which is why the salt-resistant titanium skin matters.

On the globe

The model shows two grid-framed blocks linked by sky corridors, with a big titanium sphere held near the top. Look for the ball.