• Grosvenor Asia Pacific’s ambition to target its first net-zero ready high-rise building
• Further commitment to net-zero carbon target
• Creating a sustainable and resilient building with a community focus

Grosvenor Asia Pacific, the regional operating company of Grosvenor Group, one of the largest privately-owned international property groups, announced today that it will redevelop a newly-acquired site in Tokyo’s Ginza district as their first net-zero ready high-rise, named ‘Cura’. This hybrid mixed-use retail and office complex will benefit from Grosvenor’s ‘Living Cities’ approach and follows the Group’s net-zero carbon commitment.

The announcement follows Grosvenor Group’s commitment to achieve net-zero landlord operational carbon emissions from all of their directly-managed buildings globally by 2030, and all buildings in their portfolio, directly and indirectly-managed, to be embodied and operationally net-zero by 2050.

Cura will be an exceptional retail and office space that caters to companies and brands that are committed to quality. The building incorporates both Japanese and international design concepts, as reflected in its name: ‘Cura’, which means trove or a place to store precious things, speaks to the connoisseurship of curation.

Cura will be one of Japan’s first net-zero ready, commercial high-rise buildings with onsite solar energy, and Grosvenor’s first net-zero carbon ready project in APAC. With the help of Cundall, the appointed sustainability consultancy, Cura was designed with sustainability at its core. Integrating a low carbon design in the initial design stage will boost performance savings; in turn, energy and carbon emission savings will be prioritised throughout the building design and operational stages.

This integrated approach ensures that the building is designed to meet the stringent low carbon　requirements in the most time and cost-effective manner, whilst also incorporating technology in the most efficient way. The core team working with Grosvenor Asia Pacific in developing the building, Doone Silver Kerr (façade and interior design), Mori Architect Design Office (planning architect), Fusion Management Platz (construction manager), and Tokyu Construction (general contractor) will ensure the project’s long-term sustainability goals are achieved.

Other adopted net-zero carbon strategies include using low CO₂ concrete in a steel structure to reduce embodied carbon during the construction phase. This recently approved low carbon concrete developed by Tokyu Construction and 12 general contractor joint research team will reduce embodied carbon of cement by 40%. Cura is the first project in Japan to adopt this leading-edge material for construction.

Cura is expected to achieve an overall 44% reduction in landlord operational energy use as a result of design enhancements including generating 12% of energy through onsite renewables. This will enable the building to achieve its net-zero carbon status by 2030 with the expected improvement in onsite renewable energy generation and the further assistance of renewable energy procurement. Finally, we were able to separate and recycle 98.6% of waste generated during the demolition of the old building, and 81% of waste was further recycled which represents a high rate of recycling within the industry.

Like all Grosvenor projects, the location of Cura, in Higashi-Ginza, was carefully selected due to its dynamism and the potential community benefits that a net-zero carbon ready building can bring. This reinforces Grosvenor Group’s purpose to deliver long-lasting social and commercial benefit to the communities where it operates.

The project further demonstrates Grosvenor’s “Living Cities” approach, whereby the Group combines a far-sighted, international perspective with an intimate local knowledge of markets and communities to deliver its promise. Grosvenor aims to have a positive impact on today’s communities, whilst being alive and responsive to the needs of future generations.

Cura is scheduled to commence construction in March 2021, and the project is due to be completed by December 2022.