It was designed for Tokyo, Japan, by the Taisei Corporation in 1995 as a futuristic environment combining ultra-modern and technological living and interaction with wildlife and nature.

Georges Binder, managing director of Buildings & Data, a firm which compiles data banks on buildings worldwide, said the X-Seed 4000 "is never meant to be built [...] the purpose of the plan was to earn some recognition for the firm, and it worked.

"[4] Unlike conventional skyscrapers, to remain habitable the X-Seed 4000 would have been forced to actively protect its occupants from considerable internal air pressure and external air pressure gradations and weather fluctuations that its massive elevation would cause.

[1] As the proposed site for the structure is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most active volcano range in the world, the X-Seed 4000 would have been vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid (also planned for Tokyo, Japan) faces most of the same problems as the X-Seed.