the loss of the traditional common space
from a gradual private-public connection to a private-public barricade The Japanese common place is given shape through certain activities. The activities taking place within and around the Kyomachiya are also part of that.
The Kyomachiya have deep sites with strong public connections at their facades. These long and narrow property sites provide opportunities to build structures that have hierarchy in privacy. The commercial activities allow private housing to be more engaged with its surroundings. Most modern developments ignore this interaction with the street and privatize their structures. Front doors of modern apartment buildings are often not accessible from the street. This results in a barricade between the buildings’ occupants and the street.
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With the disappearance of the kyomachiya, the public activities associated with it also disappear.*
fig 25. traditional Kyomachiya relating to the street and its activity
fig 26. new housing blocks set back with no connection to the neighborhood *(Miyake, 2011)
