We were treated to an unnerving 2:00am wakeup call courtesy the rumbling earth, which was timely as yesterday's lecture by Dr. Nakai Norihiro at the Tokyo Institute of Technology was all about earthquakes and seismic activity.

Our day of education began with an engaging lecture by Dr. Julian Worrall, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies in the Institute for Advanced Study at Waseda University, Tokyo. In his presentation, titled "Tokyo: Architecture as Performance", Dr. Worrall explained his interest in using buildings as lenses to understand the character of individual cities as well as the values of the inhabitants. In Tokyo, he feels the buildings serve as a 'skin'--temporarily decorating the city until one by one they fall out of fashion and are torn down to be replaced by the next new style. The average lifespan of a building in Tokyo is twenty-six years, which means the vast majority of the city's population is older than the structures. This reflects a deep-rooted tradition of finding beauty in transience, as with the Sakura (cherry) blossom, which lasts a short time and then falls but is celebrated with picnics and a festival during its brief lifespan.

Dr. Worrall led us on a walking tour of the Shiodome Shiosite (2005), a complex of thirteen sleek towers designed by a series of renowned international architects. 
Picture
Shiodome Shiosite
Tucked along the outer edge is the Nakagin Capsule Tower, designed by Kisho Kurokawa (built 1972), which is a unique residential tower. This building serves as the first implementation of capsule living, in which tiny spaces just large enough for a bed are rented to businesspeople. Highly significant for the role it played in the history of architecture, this building is slated for demolition due to its aging facade and nearness to high-rent Shiodome.
Picture
Nakagin Capsule Tower
 We took the elevated monorail to Odaiba, a part of the city situated on Tokyo Bay, which felt completely different from any other parts of the city we've visited. Akin to a kind of futuristic play land, it is filled with raised walkways, expansive vistas, paved plazas, lush plantings, and oversized structures. Fuji Television Building, designed by Kenzo Tange (built 1996) was our first stop, and after walking along an elevated plaza we climbed an enormous outdoor staircase of 135 steps (according to my count) just to reach the lobby level. The scale of this area combined with the unusual spatiality of heights was awe-inspiring. It felt like the ground didn't exist, or was so far below as to be out of one's conscious mind.
Picture
Fuji Television Building
Picture
View of Tokyo Bay from Fuji TV
Tokyo Big Sight (built 1996) was a short monorail ride away, and we were again overwhelmed by the monumentality and futuristic design of this convention center (annual host to 50,000 manga fans) made up of four upside-down golden triangles overlooking Claes Oldenburg's gigantic "Saw Sawing" (1996).
Picture
Tokyo Big Sight
Our final stop was Canal Court, designed by Toyo Ito (built 2005). This is the highly successful multi-family housing project in Shinonome. The buildings are constructed of high-quality materials, are well-landscaped and each has a slightly different design. The units include wall-size windows, and the complex boasts several daycare centers, cafes, and small shops. This model of providing high quality housing to low income families was financed by selling the outer lots to developers who built luxury condos on the land.
Picture
Canal Court
Whether massive or tiny, Tokyo's buildings present us with constant contrasts.

-- Sara

7/16/2012 06:15:56 pm

Excellent! I admire all the helpful data you've shared in your articles. I'm looking forward for more helpful articles from you. :)

Joseph Aidan
www.arielmed.com

Reply
5/20/2014 03:04:46 am

Simply, admirable what you have done here. It is pleasing to look you express from the heart and your clarity on this significant content can be easily looked. Remarkable post and will look forward to your future update.

Reply
5/20/2014 03:05:08 am

This is great information, cant wait to start using it. I got some work already, waiting for publishing and marketing. wish to get further information on how to launch out.

Reply
5/20/2014 05:08:25 am

love you blog, It’s beautiful. As usual, You are so funny, and I agree with your assessment.After being away for months from the public eye this is how she chooses to be seen.i hope you can understand my message cause my english is not so good and i made mistakes i guess

Reply
9/28/2014 01:33:41 pm

Great tip post!rnrnWas just looking this info up and came across your page here and it is exactly what i was looking for. all the way down to the seattle hang dry comment..hehe (redmond).

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Pratt17 

    17 Pratt Institute students of City & Regional Planning along with their professors travel overseas to study in Japan.  

    During our 17 days we will hear from 17 different voices about their experiences in Japan.

    1.  Isabel
    2.  Iwona
    3.  Karen
    4.  William
    5.  Sara
    6.  Graham
    7.  Johane
    8.  Sean
    9.  Ana
    10.  Roxanne
    11.  Alexa
    12.  Alix
    13.  Victoria
    14.  Christopher
    15.  Joseph
    16.  Lacey
    17.  Natalie
    18.  Jia