Since Tokyo is such an ultramodern (if not THE ultramodern) city, they get to implement all sorts of new cool and sustainable technologies into their structures before the rest of the world does. All the while, they maintain a wonderful sense of aestheticism to their architecture, which is one of many reasons why I personally love the city so much.

Builders of Tokyo Skytree, the 65 billion yen ($656 million) broadcast tower almost double the height of the Empire State Building, say they aim to make their mark on more than just the Japanese metropolis’s skyline.

A combination of heat pumps and water tanks for its district heating and cooling systems aims to reduce carbon emissions as much as 48 percent compared with similar projects without a centralized system, said Shinichiro Konno, the managing director of a company that helped develop Skytree.

The complex, the world’s largest broadcasting tower at 634 meters (2,080 feet), reflects pressure to conserve energy across Japan since the tsunami triggered by an earthquake in March 2011.

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