performative r[ec]lamati[o]n
Merging Water and Artificial Land to Form an Eco-Neighborhood for Tokyo Bay
Kirti Ahluwalia + Kirsten Goedeker
Kirti Ahluwalia + Kirsten Goedeker MASTER OF URBAN DESIGN Global Urbanism[s] Research I Action Studio Washington University in St. Louis Summer 2014 Professors:
Teaching Assistant:
Dr. John Hoal Bing Bu Michelle Hauk
Project Contents 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
Bay is Water I Bay is Land Understanding the Flow I Flow Becomes Form Transforming Reclamation Bay Introducing Shijomae Island Creating Productive Ecological Landscapes The Duality of Nature and the Built Form The Socio-Ecological Network Soft Docks on the Seam
5
Shijomae Island
Tokyo, Japan
01 Bay is Water I Bay is Land
Tokyo Bay Research
Bay is Water I Bay is Land Tokyo Bay Expansion History
Edo River System Transformation
Since the late 1890’s (and up into present day) Tokyo has been building new landforms in its bay and rivers through land reclamation. This notion of horizontal expansion into the water emphasizes the disproportion of values that the Japanese have towards natural ecosystems in the bay and water as a resource in general. This lack of valued connection to water and natural ecologies is evident in the way in which water is treated today:
10
Tokyo has an abundance of water and waterfront edges but most of them are not accessible to the public for intimate interaction. In contrast to the past, water is currently perceived as threatening, and is not used as an economic or recreational resource. Once known as the Venice of the East, Tokyo at its inception was a water city, utilizing canals for transport, irrigation, and protection. These canals were adapted from the main river watersheds to circumnavigate
the city, demonstrating the heavy hand that the Japanese used to form them over time. The canals around Tokyo have begun to shrink in both importance and size in the years up to contemporary times; however, as they have been adapted over time, the canals of Tokyo can once again resurface to become important. Land reclamation in Tokyo Bay has been carried out since the Meji period along the shore in areas with a depth of 5m or less. Sand soil and clay soil from the floor of the bay was traditionally used in addition to the compacted and composted waste dumped along the shoreline. This practice has since changed to using dredged silt from the bay bottom in addition to large aggregations of construction waste and non-biodegradable household refuse.
Land Reclamation in Tokyo Bay since 1600
Tokyo Bay
30%
Since 1960, 30% of Tokyo’s land area has been comprised of reclaimed land. Reclaimed land in this era was made of degraded silt from the bay bottom, construction waste, and household refuse. This proactive leaves the land susceptible to seismic tremors and liquefaction.
5.7%
Two million people out of Tokyo’s total population of 35 million live on reclaimed land.
Chiba
20
Before industrialization, there were over 20 different natural coastal conditions in the Tokyo Bay region, including Tidal Flats, Salt Marshes, and Seagrass Beds. 1603 - 1867
1868 - 1925
1946 - 1965
1976 - 1985
1926 - 1945
1966 - 1975
1986 - 1996
11
Water is Inaccessible Shijomae Island (present day)
There is no direct experience with water on the Shijomae site currently and there is very little interaction with other natural ecosystems. Fences and bridges with no pedestrian access prevent a personal experience with the waterfront. As Shijomae is an island site, there is a sense of disorientation and disjunction due to the lack of physical and visual connection to the bay water surroundings.
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13
Water is Dead
The Health of Marine Ecosystems in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay is
43%
contaminated
The lack of marine experience in Tokyo Bay and on Shijomae Island is due to the contaminated nature of the water.
The bay and marine life in it are largely dead due to a
95% water polluted by oil 5% polluted by other activities
number of factors:
LAND RECLAMATION BAY BOTTOM DREDGING SHIPPING CHANNELS INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION PESTICIDE DEAD ZONES DE-OXYGENATION PREDATOR JELLYFISH
the Seto Inland Sea 67% ofcontaminated
14
Pollution from oil deposits is at a rather high level. The oxygen levels of the bay water are alarmingly low and have resulted in an expansion of lifeless areas.
96%
Intensity of Contamination
of the marine species native to the bay are endangered.
Jellyfish have destroyed the natural marine ecology of the bay and have made human contact with the water difficult. They have overtaken an ecological niche due to ocean dead zones.
Fishery Decline in Tokyo Bay 1973
5332
Number of fishery households around the bay
1978
1983
1993
1998
450 m3
420 m3
3216 270 m3
1988
460 m3
2008
465 m3
475 m3
400 m3 Most industries were located on the water’s edge, further cutting
2753 2486
Quantity of catches
Tokyo off the water 2224 2054
7.7tons 270 m3 Volume of effluent discharge into the bay
2003
7.2 tons
1756
6.8 tons
1843
6.3 tons 5.1 tons
15
4 tons
The majority of Tokyo Bay and the general waterway system through the city has now given way to development. The loss of the importance of water was due to catastrophic events destroying the city (earthquakes, war) and the pile up of debris, eventually becoming landform and initiating reclamation within the bay. An emphasis on modernization aided this swift urban reform, prioritizing the built over the natural. Another reason for the decline of fishery was the waiver of fishing rights which led to a complete loss of the basis of enterprise. The shrinkage in the number of fishing households in Tokyo Bay kept pace with the development of reclamation projects.
Land is No Longer Natural
The Prevalence of Shoddy Land Reclamation Projects in Tokyo Bay
Common Reclamation Materials
The bay has 249
sq km of ongoing reclaimed areas,
and has grown predominantly in a southward pattern, through the entire coast of the bay appears to be altered at this point in time. Reclamation projects have destroyed the natural coastline of the bay and the tidal flats that served as natural breeding grounds for fish, resulting in the disappearance of many marine ecosystems. Tokyo Bay serves as the final disposal site for wastewater and garbage. 16 The bay used to have a self-cleaning ecosystem of marine plants and animals, but that was depleted with the construction of artificial islands and the dredging of the bottom of the bay for landform silt.
Despite the long tradition of land reclamation and the proliferation of built form upon these artificial islands, the threat of liquefaction looms above much of the reclaimed land in the bay (those islands built after 1966 with bay dredged soil). Sand soil and clay soil from the floor of the bay was traditionally used in addition to the compacted and composted waste dumped along the shoreline. This practice has since changed to using dredged silt from the bay bottom in addition to large aggregations of
construction waste and nonbiodegradable household refuse.
During the 2011 earthquake, many of these areas liquefied, including our own site of Shijomae Island.
Land reclamation itself is not the problem of Tokyo Bay ,,,the problem lies in manner in which land is being made
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Land as Urban I Land as Resource
Rethinking Productive Land to Combat Resource Depletion in Tokyo
With the death of marine life in the bay and the disappearance of fisheries, Tokyo has to depend on bringing in seafood from other sources. The nature of the land around the city is suited for cultivation, but not much of it. Only 20% of Japan’s total land area is able to grow crops, so in addition to
importing seafood, grain and other food sources must be imported as well.
Agriculture, fishing, and forestry dominated Japanese economy until the 1940’s, and then met a decline. In the Meji period it accounted for 80% of employment; there was a decline post WWII, but in the 1950’s it still accounted for 50% of the workforce. From then on it declined to 23.5% in 1965, and 7.2% in 1998. Many farmers contemporary farmers do not have the income to sustain their families and must take a secondary job.
The contemporary practice of land reclamation in the bay does not respond these statistics - instead of finding ways to supplement the lack of cultivatable soil, land building is used as a structural platform for urban expansion and building. After exhausting the bay as a resource for food and water with land building, the Japanese have turned their backs on the opportunity to create productive landscapes to replace those lost in the reclamation process.
Agriculture is protected by the city’s form, but cannot sustain it...
18
60% of Japan’s consumed food is imported from other countries.
20%
Of Japan’s total land area, only 20% (49,000 sq km) is fertile and flat enough to cultivate agricultural crops.This is due to the vast forestation and severe topography of the mountainous zones through the middle of the country (specifically surrounding the metropolitan bounds of Tokyo).
SOY BEANS 13%Domestic Domestic SOY BEANS 13%5% Domestic DomesticRICE WHEAT Domestic Domestic SOY WHEAT BEANS100% 5% 0% Imported CORN CORN Imported WHEAT RICE 100% Domestic 100%13% Domestic 100%5% Imported 87%Imported Imported 87% 95% Imported Imported 87% Imported 95% Imported 95%
RICE 100% Domestic However...
100%
of the rice consumed in Japan is grown domestically.There is often a small surplus that is exported for trade.
What is the most productive use of landscape? STRUCTURAL PLATFORMS FOR BUILDINGS?
How should Tokyo use its limited Is there a way to combine
land resource to promote productivity?
landforms to provide a resilient solution?
NATURAL FORESTATION?
AGRICULTURE?
Land Building Destroys Ecology
Conclusions about Shijomae Island and Project Suggestions
Because of the lack of natural ecologies around the site, the lack of personal connection and experience of nature on the bay, and the resource depletion in the Tokyo Bay region due to the creation of land, the design of Shijomae Island should step up and address these issues for the betterment of the region, but also for the betterment of the population and the future residents of the island. The creation and proliferation of soil and ecology should be prioritized in the Tokyo Bay Islands instead of the endless construction cycle of structural platforms and static buildings.
Land reclamation is still a viable means of expansion, but the quality in which it is being carried out hinders its resiliency. A solution that promotes a focus on ecology, while maintaining an urban density will bring Tokyo Bay back as a resource to sustain the city.
20
Shijomae Island, as the cornerstone to this strategy, should contribute to the
restoration of the bay through: a
PRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY of RECLAMATION by
BECOMING A PLACE FOR LIVING AND RECREATING IN NATURE BECOMING A SOURCE OF FOOD (on LAND and in the WATER) RESTORING MARINE and LAND BASED ECOLOGIES for TODAY and BEYOND
21
Shijomae Island will prioritize hydrological and land-based ecological systems within the dense urban landscape to create a neighborhood that both restores resident relationships with nature and the health of Tokyo bay.
22
23
Project Goals Goals are trifold, focusing on the health of land-based ecosystems, water-based
WATER
NATURE
ecosystems, and a hybrid condition of the two, moving the from the current constructed condition to the 2050 Vision.
island forward
1
COMBINE LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE FOR A NEW TYPOLOGY
2
CREATE AN ECO-IDENTITY FOR THE ISLAND
3
INFLUENCE SURROUNDING ISLANDS TO ADOPT ECO-PRACTICES
4
WATER AS A NATURAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC RESOURCE
5
BRING WATER INTO THE EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE
6
RE-BALANCE AND MAINTAIN MARINE BIODIVERSITY
7
HYBRIDIZE WATER AND LAND ECOLOGIES IN THE URBAN FORM
8
ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS FOR A RESILIENT ECOSYSTEM
9
PRIORITIZE RESTORING LAND, WATER, AND EXISTING BUILDINGS
10
BECOME A FOOD AND WATER POSITIVE NEIGHBORHOOD/ISLAND
HYBRID
24
Inspiration: Hutan Park, Shanghai, China
Inspiration: Zhujiajiao Water Village, China
SITE CHARACTER
Shijomae Island present condition Olympic Media Village Shijomae
2010
2014 (Present)
2020
BAY ECOLOGY
Decreasing the Jellyfish Threat
Sprawl Ceases in Favor of Agricultural Land
Natural Ideologies
Building Form
URBAN ECOLOGY
26
Food Production
Restoring Marine Ecology
Food Growth on Green Roofs
Hydroponic Farming Adds to Double Cropping Practices
Barraging Predatory Jellyfish
Green Roof Incentives
Land Reclamation Ceases
Building Rehabilitation becomes Common Practice
Living Building Code Adopted
Shijomae Island Site Timeline
2050 Vision Plan Shijomae Island as an Eco-Neighborhood
2030
2035
2040
2050
Sustainable Fishing Practices
27 Vertical Farming Rises as a Viable Typology
Bring Fishery Back to the Bay
Inter-Neighborhood Crop Cultivation
Hybrid Land-Water Ecosystem Cleanses Bay Water
Living Facades Favored Over Traditional Designs
Individual Facade Crop Growth Common in Eco-Neighborhoods
Human Interaction with Bay Water Safe
Performative Buildings become Common Practice
Self Sustaining Neighborhood
Bay Coastal Edges are Rehabilitated to Natural Wetland State
Architecture/Landscape/Ecosystem Design
02 Understanding the Flow I Flow Becomes Form Tokyo Bay Regional Framework
30
31
Understanding the Flow
Regional Research and Ecological Networks Tone River
Based on the tidal currents of the bay (entering from the west edge of the bay, in a clockwise direction,exiting on the eastern edge), we propose the functional use of the bay to be primarily shipping industry on the western edge where, as water moves through a filtration zone, it is cleansed. The cleansed bay water is then used by the eastern edge, primarily food and fishery based, reviving the historical use of the bay as a source of local fishing households. Arakawa River Edo Sumida
Edogawa River
Sumida River EDOGAWA KU
Arakawa
Tamagawa River
TOKYO PORT
CHIBA CHIBA PORT
Tokyo Bay Floodgate
KAWASAKI PORT
UMIHOTARU PORT
YOKOHAMA PORT
NAKA
KISAZARU PORT KISAZARU VILLAGE
URAYASU YOKOSUKA PORT
32
Chiba
TSUNGI SAKI MISAKI
FUTTUSU
TETAYAMA
Tokyo Bay Tidal Flows
Miles
Hierarchy of River Outlets Around Shijomae Island
Supplementing the reorganization of tides, local flows around reclaimed islands will be organized into systems of barrages to help cleanse the bay waters through treatment of estuary waters. These operable dams will alter the present shipping lanes in favor of a less invasive system (helping to cease the flow of pollutants) around the Shijomae Island site. Utilizing the natural flow of the Sumida, Arakawa, and Edo Rivers, Tokyo Bay will adopt hard and soft edges based on erosion and sediment tendencies.
Unknown Route Ferry Terminal
Cruise Terminal
er Riv
Cargo Storage
ise
Cru
Cargo Storage
Ferry Terminal Tokyo Port
Cargo Storage
Proposed New Fish Market
33
Haneda Airport
Proposed Cargo Storage Center
Reorganization of River Outlets for Barraging
Reorganization of Bay Water Services
Flow Becomes Form
Creating Hard and Soft Edges in the Site and on the Bay The new river organization (specifically the five distributaries of the Sumida River) will create a new edge condition around Shijomae Island to mediate flow of clean water out to the bay. Hard and soft edges will work with erosion and sedimentation to form a system of levees (supplemented by tetrapod breakwaters) and cleansing wetlands, respectively. These two edges will perform a dual function of climate change protection and ecosystem remediation for the site and will be applied to the bay coast.
34
Edge Application for Tokyo Bay
Edge Application for Shijomae Island Context
35
Hard and Soft Edges on Shijomae Island
Sustainable Design Criteria and Functions
Ecology Filtration Restoration
36
Bay Waters
Habitats
Wetlands
Barraging
(Cleansing + Gathering)
Bio diversity
(Plants and Animals)
Marine
Climate Change
Riparian
Land-Based
Avian
Food Aquaculture Farming
Rice Paddy
(Wet Agriculture)
Facade and Roof Vegetation
Prairie Agriculture
(Fruit + Vegetables)
(Single Plot, Multi-Crop)
Social (People, Habitats, Nature, Water)
Experience
(Physical + Visual)
Resident Health and Wellness
(Clean Air + Walking) (Trees + Water Aeration)
Pick-up Sports
Swimming
Walking / Running / Hiking
Cycling
Fishing
Boating
Recreation Tourism
Other Islands
Underground Service
Parking / Park + Ride
Transit Hub
Research Farming Ecology (Physical + Visual)
Transit Networks Education
Economy Shipping / Transit Industry Fishing Growing Tourism
37
Ibaraki Ibaraki
Regional Design Principles
Saitama
Saitama
and ard
sed water o f clean utw wo Flo
into t he se a
Yamanashi
ar
df
or
.
filte ratio n
ashi
n
w
re w pu f im
ate
ri
Kanagawa
Flo w
o
Kanagawa
Chiba
Chiba
Hybrid Cleansing + Aquaculture
Test Cleansing Site- Shijomae
Proposed Industrial Edge
Proposed Sites
Proposed Aquaculture Edge
Shizuoka
uoka
38 1 inch = 3 miles
Miles
0
5
:
Tokyo Bay will adopt a coastal barrage system that will organize all water flows and boat traffic within the perimeters of the water cleansing system for the entire bay. 10
20
1 inch = 3 miles
Working in a clockwise motion with the currents and tides, ship traffic will enter from the west with dirty water and service the industrial coast. Moving northward towards Shijomae, the water purification system will begin and continue along the eastern coast with clean waters carried along the outgoing tide towards newly planned fishery locations and aquaculture. Miles
0
5
10
20
39
:
From a programmatic level, the bay can be understood as a system of functional nodes that operate based on the principles of the previous sustainable design criteria. All nodes are related, and an overlap of functions increases the resiliency of the system, should one node falter.
1 inch = 3 miles
Dependent on the location of the node and its relationship to the new edge functions laid out, each node will have a unique, yet interrelated function. There will be nodes focused on the four categories of sustainable criteria: Miles
0
5
10
20
ECOLOGY FOOD SOCIAL ECONOMIC Regional nodes can encompass a number different functions that eventually break down into detailed programming devices at smaller scales.
Tokyo Bay Sustainable Framework Regional Approach
At the regional scale, an overlap of functions asserts the resiliency of the system. No one site performs all functions, but cohesively all of the nodes work as a unit to reinforce and sustain the bay. At the regional scale we aim to restore the bay in both clean water, and coastal ecosystems. This is accomplished by prioritizing coastal filtration through the insertion of biodiverse plant and animal species; economy in the careful organization of the “dirty� shipping functions of the bay in contrast to the new fishery lands; and the concept of
networks, as the strategy aims to function as a resilient system of parts, serving the good of the whole. Filtration Restoration
Growing
Barraging
Fishing
40 Chiba
Bio Diversity
Industry
Aquaculture
Shipping
Focus Site
Education
Farming
Environmental Social
Transit Networks
Social Experience
Food Shipping
Miles
Tourism
Health Recreation
Yamanashi
Ecological Networks
Barraging
Filtration
Ecological Restoration
Kanagawa
Food Networks
Aquaculture
Farming
Chiba
Social Connections
41 Experience
Health
Recreation Tourism
Transportation
Economic Networks
Shipping
Shizuoka
1 inch = 3 miles Miles
Understanding the Node
Breaking down Ecology, Food, and Economy Nodes at the Regional Scale
42 Miles 20
As mentioned, the bay exists in a duality of edge conditions: one for heavy industry, and one for water treatment, cleansing, and fishing.
:
The bay can be understood programatically by interrelated nodes of function. At this level, they are: SHIPPING BARRAGING FISHING and GROWING 1 inch = 3 miles
Miles
0
5
10
20
The placement of the nodes relates to the function of the edge, and at smaller scales, will eventually subdivide into more complex relationships and programs.
Subdivided Node Locations
Regional Barrage Node
Regional Fishery Node When subdivided, the three large nodes expand into a more complex series of ecological, social, and economic relationships. The Regional Barrage Node functions primarily as a means to capture and cleanse water, but additionally is a place for fish farming and marine recreation. The Regional Fishery Node functions primarily as a large network of fishing and cultivation in the bay, but additionally as a means for residents to restore their relationship with nature. The Regional Industry Node functions primarily as a location for global shipping and industry and acts as a means to organize the hole bay waters for the movement of water craft, may they be industrial or recreational.
Regional Industry Node
43
44
Tokyo Bay
45
03 Transforming Reclamation Bay Island Context Framework
48
49
Context Design Principles
51
A barrage system will trap and clean all river outlets at the Shijomae site and around the bay in total. The clean water will flow out of the Barrage to the general bay waters and traverse the clean waterways along the eastern coast exiting the bay via tidal current through new fishing outposts.
Utilizing the flows from the river outlets, strategic soft wetland edges will be placed in areas of sedimentation to cleans the water through natural processes on its way out to the bay. To prevent erosion and provide protection, hard levee edges will be added to the opposing shores.
Reclamation Bay Sustainable Framework Island Context Approach
Again, the overlap and clustering of functions at the greater island context scale, helps to serve the resilient nature of the bay and its nodal network.
Ecological Networks
At the context scale we aim to restore the bay at a finer grain and bring recreation in nature to the bay waters. This is accomplished by utilizing the hard and soft edge network of the river system throughout the reclaimed islands; and the programming of the newly cleaned waters though the barrage system for marine recreation
Filtration
Ecological Restoration
Food Networks
and aquaculture. Filtration
Aquaculture
Restoration
Growing
Farming
Social Connections
Barraging
Fishing
52
Barraging
Bio Diversity
Industry
Experience Aquaculture
Shipping
Education
Social Experience
Tourism
Health Recreation
Recreation Tourism
Economic Networks
Farming
Transit Networks
Health
Shipping
Transportation
53
54
Tokyo Bay Islands
55
04 Introducing Shijomae Island
Site Analysis
58
59
60
Site Photos
61
Shijomae Island Reclamation History
62
Shijomae Island was first reclaimed in 1937 in conjunction with the ongoing construction of Toyosu Island (originally reclaimed in 1923 with the refuse of the Great Kanto earthquake). Though portions of the island are quite old, the majority of the site was not constructed until the 1960’s. Due to the nature of the material used to construct it
(construction refuse, household waste, and fly ash from the Tokyo region) and the frequency of earthquakes in the Tokyo Bay region, Shijomae Island is susceptible to liquefaction during seismic activity. In the 1960’s Shijomae Island was used as an industrial site; evidence of this
still remains with the appearance of oil slicks on the waterfront edges of the island. Since then (fairly recently) the island was cleared and is in the process of construction of new buildings that will respond to the 2020 Olympics on the adjoining islands.
Site Context Overview
Important Issues In and Around Shijomae Island Industrial Shipping Dock
Cruise Ship Commercial Dock
e lag
p
ym
Ol
il ic V
et ark
Ex
is dF
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nn
i
Bu
ms
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diu
Cyc
Beach Volleyball Stadium
stic
Gy
a mn
lin
m
diu
ta sS
ta gS
m
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n Ten
ta is S
ium
tad
S all
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The bay is highly toxic and marine life is dead
Po
is
hM
Pla
g tin
n
so
ng ldi
o ky To
e Sit
ss
cce
A rt
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Shijomae Island Design Principles Water Systems: Bay Cleansing
65
There will be a Barrage between the two northern-most bridges on the Shijomae site; it will fill the space between the two islands and will extend northwards up the canal. The Barrage will perform in a trifold: luring, capturing, and containing rouge jellyfish from the general bay waters - thus improving the bio diversity of the bay; cleansing the river water that flows through the Barrage channel, and expelling it into the greater bay; and housing a fish farm for salmon both for marine bio diversity and consumption. The Barrage will become an iconic location within the neighborhood, acting as a pedestrian spine across the bay channel and a social destination and connection point with a museum, marine zoo, retail, and entertainment.
The salmon fishery on site will be located on the northern edge of the site, at the entrance of one of the distributaries of the Sumida river into the bay waters.
Water Systems: Performative Edges
66
Originating at the Barrage, canals will traverse the site, working in a hierarchy from large to small as the distance from the Barrage grows. The canals will be recreation zones for fishing, swimming, and transport, creating a site-wide water network. Water will be filtered in the Barrage and brought into the neighborhood by designated canals. This system will make the neighborhood WATER POSITIVE.
The edge condition of the site will vary depending on the natural force of the Sumida River distributaries upon it, working in a duality of hard and soft. Hard edges will be part of an inhabitable levee system and will be located to the north in the Barrage area to combat erosion. Soft edges will operate in a performative wetland system to cleanse the bay and take advantage of the natural sedimentation process - this should allow the land to grow organically, lessening the need for more artificial land.
67
The entire hard and soft system will serve as protection against severe flooding in the rainy season, sea level rise from climate change, and the occasional tsunami. The northern levee will be inhabitable, serving as social place for gathering and as an underground service route, where as the wetland levee will be a hybrid of ecological systems and engineering stems to protect the island from the rising tide of climate change.
The flood protection system of wetland-levees will be replicated across the bay, creating an eco-network that compliments the existing water purification strategy of the barrage.
Detail: Climate Change Levee Sections At the detail level, the section of the northern levee will be inhabitable in the urban blocks, serving as social place for gathering and as an underground service route. In the natural block, the levee will transform into a hybrid of wetland systems and engineering systems to protect the island from the rising tide of climate change.
Urban Levee Condition
69
Wetland Levee Condition
Transportation and Access
70
The Yurikamome monorail will be kept on site, as will the surrounding bridge infrastructure, maintaining connections to the surrounding context - yet their transformational function will change. The Barrage bridge will become a pedestrian spine, and the other bridges will be outfitted with pedestrian and bicycle paths. These three bridges will still have automobile access, but there will be limited on ramps to the site for emergency access. The site will be primarily CAR FREE.
The neighborhood will be CAR FREE, focusing on alternate modes of milti-modal transportation: the Yurikamome train line, walking, bicycling, and boat transit on the canals.
71
To comply with the car free attitude, all service roads will be re-routed underground to a basement level network. Operating in a similar system to the above ground pathways, only the main paths will be utilized underground, creating collection nodes within building blocks.
For ease of access for those individuals that have lesser mobility, there will be a series of park and ride locations stemming from the overhead automobile bridges. Parking will be below grade and will be able to tie into the sub-surface service routes. Emergency access will still be available on ground level as the circulation pathways will be wide enough for cars to navigate.
Block Typologies
72
There will be thee main block types in the neighborhood: URBAN NATURAL (LAND ECOLOGIES) WATER These blocks will be able to merge and hybridize within the neighborhood grid.
The neighborhood grid will be based upon the traditional Tokyo agricultural grid of small parcels, and will blend the different block types and their hybrids to create a rich neighborhood experience. Keeping the blocks from clustering at a mega scale is important - preventing a mono-culture is key to the resilient survival of the neighborhood through time.
Performance Strategies
73
Food will be grown as a part of a prairie agriculture system within the NATURE block system, and additionally in the bay in the first clean water zone in the general bay water. Fish will be brought back to the neighborhood and harvested to make the neighborhood FOOD POSITIVE.
Buildings in the neighborhood will perform to aid in the POSITIVE RESOURCE attitude and ECOLOGICAL PRIORITY and IDENTITY of the area. Buildings will merge architecture, landscape, and ecology using bio-mimicry; this will be applied to existing buildings via retro-fit and new designs. Buildings will have four primary functions outside of their program: CLEANSE WATER CAPTURE WATER CULTIVATE FOOD HOUSE PLANT AND ANIMAL ECOSYSTEMS
Shijomae Island Sustainable Framework Site Approach
At the island scale we aim to promote performative landscapes and ecologies integrated with social interactions for residents
Ecological Networks
and visitors. This is accomplished by utilizing a variety of social
nodes with both recreational and health-based programs; anchoring the barrage system as the primary location
for social gatherings and an armature that extends onto the surrounding islands with which Shijomae Island is connected. There is also potential for an intimate resident relationship with both food and economic networks with the location of a
Barraging
Filtration
Ecological Restoration Climate Change
Food Networks
salmon farm adjacent to the barrage gate in the estuary waters.
Aquaculture
Filtration
Vegetation
Restoration
Growing
Social Connections
Barraging
Fishing
74
Farming
Bio Diversity
Industry
Experience
Aquaculture
Shipping
Education
Health
Recreation Tourism
Economic Networks
Farming Tourism
Transit Networks
Social Experience
Tourism
Health Recreation
Fishing
Growing
Transportation
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Site Photos
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05 Creating Productive Ecological Landscapes
Shijomae Island Framework
Shijomae Island Framework Plan Hard and Soft Edges
The hard and soft edges of the site respond to flow of the Sumida River around Shijomae Island. The northeastern shore experiences a faster, harsher flow, and the levee system will serve as protection and a break water. The northwestern shore will function as thin wetland edge, utilizing the sedimentation of the river to grow the island. The southern shore has a much slower flow, allowing for the wetland edge to expand and overtake much of the canal space, filtering all water that flows through it.
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Levee Wall Braced for Erosion Tetrapods
Wetland Edge
Wetlands The wetlands around Shijomae Island primarily perform cleansing functions for the river water that is released into the bay and house new habitats for marine and landforms promoting bio diversity, however there are a few secondary social functions that occur as well. The wetlands will be serviced by a series of boardwalks that allow residents and visitors to view nature and to have a physical relationship with it through swimming, boating, and fishing.
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Water Systems: Barrage The Barrage system will use the existing northwestern bridge as an armature for capturing water for cleansing and fish farming and as the primary place of social gathering. Its placement falls within the greatest flow of distributary water from the Sumida river and the strongest current flowing out to the bay, making the location ideal.
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Fresh Water Flow Cleansed Water
Impure Water
Water Systems: Canals The canal system on the island takes advantage of the strong flow of water from the Sumida river to the north, orienting many of the openings along the breakwater edge, and allowing the flow of water through the site to operate naturally from north to south. There is a large canal to the eastern edge of the site, separating Shijomae Island from Toyosu Island, and operating as an alternate route for floodwaters, should they threaten to overwhelm the breakwater edge.
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Canals and Water Blocks
Water System: Canal Edge Typologies There are three canal edge typologies, responding to the different block functions:
CLEANSING EDGE (soft ecological block edges) SOCIAL EDGE (hard urban edges with habitable paths) PRIVATE EDGE (hard built edges with no paths, only buildings)
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Cleansing Edge Hard Edge, Social
Hard Edge, Private
Circulation: Pathways and Boardwalks Pedestrian pathways subdivide the site block structure with two main functions: optimizing the route from one block to another across the canal system, and emphasizing the nature of the block (whether or not it responds to the hard or soft edge). The geometry of the pathway network responds to the edge type by providing angular geometries to the north (the hard, urban edge) and curvilinear geometries to the south (the soft, natural edge). There is also a secondary boardwalk system along the wetland edge of the site.
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Boardwalk
Transportation and Access In addition to the pedestrian pathways, there are two other main networks of transit access on the site. The Yurikamome monorail stops twice on Shijomae Island, before terminating on Toyosu Island, providing the best connection to the surrounding context and mainland Tokyo. The canal structure on the island is also accessible by boat for movement between the larger island blocks.
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Altered Shipping Channel
Waterway Network
Yurikamome Monorail Network
Emergency Vehicle Access
Service Routes Following the hierarchy of larger pedestrian pathways above, service routes move below ground connecting the greater blocks of the island as well. To streamline collection, there are several main nodes located in each urban block.
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Underground Collection Routes Park and Ride Centers
Block Structure Following the nature of the two distinct island edges, there are two distinct neighborhood halves of the site. To the north, the dense, urban block made up of a rectangular geometric block logic, and to the south, a looser, more organic block made up of curvilinear shapes that flow alongside the form of the wetlands to the south.
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Block Types To prevent a mono-culture, and to provide a variety of experiences within the greater block structure, there are four types of block functions dispersed throughout the site. Both the built and the ecological green blocks appear throughout the site, however, the agricultural block is confined to the southern portion of the site where there is ample sunlight. The large water blocks are clustered throughout the run of the canal network, though they most commonly appear at the origin of the canal to compensate for extraneous water flow.
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Urban Block Ecological Block
Agriculture Block
Buildings Buildings are organized within the urban block structure according to the two block size typologies: large courtyard and small, thin separate buildings. These two typologies appear on both neighborhood sides of the island, yet they ultimately take different forms - to the north buildings are more organically formed, while to the south they have brutal angular forms. This duality responds and contradicts the respective block logic of both island edges to create a conceptually complex form.
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Large Block Typology Small Block Typology
Shijomae Island Framework Plan
Layered Logic
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Emerging Network Systems Ecological Networks The combination of performative canal edges with the river-formed wetlands surrounding the island act as an armature from which the interior ecological corridor forms. The green ecological blocks weave in and out of the urban blocks, forming a continuous natural experience.
Flooding/Bioremediation Sites
Food Networks Much like the interior ecological green network, the agricultural blocks nestle themselves into the site logic on the southern edge of the site. Taking advantage of the southern sun, the buildings adjacent to the agricultural blocks use vegetated facades to supplement the farming on-grade, creating the collection / distribution sites. 92
Food Collection/Distribution Sites
Social / Recreation Networks Though there is the main gathering site of the Barrage and the Yurikamome train stop, the distribution of social gathering spaces is fairly even across the site, occurring most often on the canal edges, the intersection of building blocks, and in the ecological green network. The social experience on the site is varied - no social node should be exactly the same in program or spatial experience. Major Public/Recreational Spaces
Ecological Corridor
Food Production Corridor 93
Recreational Corridor
Shijomae Island, a Productive Ecological Landscape
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06 The Duality of Nature and the Built Form Block Detail
Brutalism and Nature
The Two Neighborhood Types within Shijomae Island
Stemming from the two distinct edge conditions of erosion and sediment, two neighborhood block types emerged on the site - one ruled on harsh, angular geometries, and the other rooted in the slow, meandering nature of the ecological landscape. The organization of the blocks makes explicit reference to the originating edge concept, yet the buildings within them work in opposition to their conceptual nature. The argument that all nature-based design is organic and curvilinear, and all angular, brutal design cannot be natural spurred the decision to invert the logic of building style within the block style. Challenging this logic allows for new spatial forms to emerge at the block and the detail scale, creating opportunities for richness on both social and ecological scales. The Seam between the two neighborhoods became the focus of the block and the detail plan as a place of visual contradiction and experiential juxtaposition of a variety of programs that are not traditionally seen together in Tokyo.
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Building Design Principles
Building Typologies
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There will be two main typologies on the site based on the new block structure: LARGE COURTYARD TERRACES for larger, wider blocks and SMALL SEPARATE FOOTPRINTS for the smaller, thinner blocks. Both blocks will orient to the optimal solar orientation (southwest) with their long facades and with the terracing of roof gardens to gain maximum sunlight in open, shared areas.
The adjacent edge conditions (whether a pathway, a canal, or ecological green space) will effect the nature of the facade of the building. Generally, in pathway situations, the facade will be screened for privacy; on canal edges the facade will be glass to provide views; and for green adjacencies, there will be a green facade in the optimal orientation for growing and cultivating vegetation.
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In the larger block typology buildings facing green spaces shall allow them into the building, forging an integration of building and landscape.
Secondary circulation on the mid-to-upper levels of buildings will exist in areas of greater urban density. This circulation will become a skypark and will create a vertical courtyard - both locations will be new social gathering spaces.
Conceptual Section Shijomae Island Transect
Across the island’s two neighborhood types lie the two different building typologies, the large courtyard building and the small separated buildings. Though they are located on opposing ends, there is a similarity in the priority that nature takes in form making. This conceptual section explores the idea of both organic and brutal buildings at various scales - testing the limits that form and nature are often conformed.
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This detail most closely resembles the final designed typologies: the small separate buildings (seen here on a plinth) and the large courtyard building.
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Detailed Block Plan Shijomae Island Transect
The duality between the two neighborhood block types (both harsh and organic) is seamed together by the canal system in this transect of the island. This logic of the neighborhoods and the seam scheme is carried out throughout the site.
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Program Diagram
Water Garden Overhead Park Circulation
Commercial Retail (residential on top)
Starchitect Designed Museum
Cafe
Topography Park / Bridge
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Office (residential on top)
Water Dock
Outdoor Dining
Laboratory Lobby / Cafe
Open Gathering Space
Rice Paddy / Manicured Crops
Picnic Space
Fishing Pier (above)
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Cafe Office (residential on top) Multi-Crop Agriculture Meditation Space
Recreational Boating
Erosion’s Edge
Block Structure: Brutalism Building Form: Organic
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Wetland’s Edge
Block Structure: Organic Building Form: Brutalism
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Erosion’s Edge
SkyPark Secondary Circulation
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Wetland’s Edge
Topography Park and Bridge
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07 The Socio-Ecological Network Public Space Framework
The Socio-Ecology Network Public Space Typology Framework
There are twelve distinct typologies of public space that appear across the site. Some of them are rooted in spatial relationships, as well as programmatic function, while others are deeply connected to the desired social interaction on site.
Water Block Canal’s Edge (Hard) Cleansing Edge (Soft) The Barrage (Social Space) Transit Hub Community Square Pier 116 Park
Community Rooftop SkyPark Network Waterfront Boardwalk Wetland Boardwalk
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Public Space Typologies
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Water Block
Canal’s Edge (Hard)
Cleansing Edge (Soft)
The water block is the resultant space from the intersection of two canals, of the opening up of a canal to the bay. These spaces are highly active, promoting water sports and areas in which people can swim in newly cleansed river water. These spaces are public and are open to physical occupation during the day, but are limited to boat traffic only after dark.
The hard edge of the canal describes the place where a pathway has been constructed for social activity. There are often boat docks (both private and public), view platforms, outdoor dining, and spaces for sitting and lounging in close proximity to the water’s edge. These spaces have meandering pedestrian traffic during the day, peaking during the evening hours.
The cleansing edge works in opposition to the hard edge, it is performative and largely private, only admitting pedestrians on a small walkway. These edges function as a wetland for the further cleansing of canal water and as a habitat for animals. This is one of the most intimate typologies, thus the nature of the space is quiet and the pedestrian’s role is transitory.
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The Barrage (Social Space) The barrage provides a dual function on the island - it is both the main social space and the main device for river water filtration. Its physical structure is semi-private, but the activity along side it and on top of the roof is highly public and social. The barrage is a gathering place for entertainment, and education with a marine museum and cafes; it is crowded during the weekends as it is a draw for both residents and tourists.
Transit Hub
Community Square
The transit hubs is adjacent to the barrage and one of the Yurikamome metro stops on the island. It is a transitory public meeting place, as most users transition to the transportation system after a short period of occupation. The transit hub is a lively place, with most of its activity becoming crowded at peak hours, yet still maintaining a steady flow of users.
The typology of the community square occurs at the cross roads of two pedestrian thoroughfares. There is often an opening up of building facades to the corners, allowing the physical space of the street to expand. These spaces are also public spaces of transition, but unlike the hub, they are far less crowded. The square is often lined with trees, making it an inhabitable space even in the harshest weather.
Public Space Typologies
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Pier
Park
Community Rooftop
The pier is one of the more prevalent typologies within the island scheme - it is the resultant space at the end of a major circulation trajectory, and extends out over the nearest adjacent water space, both over canals and the bay. The pier is a public space, but is quiet in nature, welcoming slow activities like fishing and scenic viewing of the landscape.
The park is a quiet place, one for the public to gather for activities like walking, picnicking, tai chi, or pick-up games of soccer. Over the course of the day, the park exists in a semi-active state as it has more docile activity flows than other typologies. Parks make use of topography more so than the other typologies, using it to fuse green space with the buildings surrounding them.
The community roof top operates in a visual network of green roves within the neighborhood structure. The space is private to community members, but is full of lively activity throughout the day, such as dining, gardening, dog walking, light recreation, and lounging. Community rooftops often have a secondary performative nature to them as places for cultivation, water capture, and animal habitats.
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SkyPark Network In contrast to the community rooftop, the SkyPark is a physical connection between elevated green spaces. Modeled after the Highline in New York, the SkyPark will be a secondary means of circulation and a green network above the hustle of the streets below. The network will be public, allowing for new sectional relationships between traditional public and private spaces.
Waterfront Boardwalk The waterfront boardwalk open to the public as a place of pedestrian activity and scenic views to the adjacent islands and to Tokyo Bay. It is most active in the mornings and at night with a concentration of entertainment venues and recreational boating activities. Despite the high level of activity, there is still time and place built into the structure for observation and lounging.
Wetland Boardwalk The wetland boardwalk provides a more intimate experience with nature and the canal waterfronts than the waterfront boardwalk does with the open bay water. The wetland boardwalk hovers a few feet off the marshy ground and brings people right up to the waters edge, and sometimes directly over it. The walkway is public, but the experience it generates is much more semi-private and intimate.
Public Space Hierarchy Of the twelve typologies three organizing hierarchies emerge:
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SOCIAL (the Barrage, the Pier, the Transit Hub, and community squares) PERFORMATIVE (the canal edges, waterfront and wetland boardwalks) COMMUNITY SPACES ABOVE (community rooftop and SkyPark networks)
Social
Performative 123
Community Spaces
08 Soft Docks on the Seam Public Space Detail
Soft Docks on the Seam Detailed Plan
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Experience Diagram
A Functional Narrative of Public Space
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Main Circulation Routes Places for Standing and Staying Places for Sitting Places for Conversation Places for Seeing Places for Recreation (Boating)
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Restaurant Edge
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The Deck
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Soft Docks on the Seam
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1 Inch of rainfall on 1 acre of land = 27154 gallons of water. Tokyo experiences 60 inches of Rainfall annually, amounting to 1629240 gallons of water per acre. Collecting this would make our island water positive.
WETLANDS An area of 4441000 sq. feet of wetlands 134 were added around the site to cleanse the dirty river waters flowing through the site. This is almost half of the present total area of the landfilled site.
BUILDING AREA The total building footprint area amounts to 3275250 sq. feet which is approximately 1/3rd of the total site area with 38,500,000 sq. feet of total residential area adding 50000 people.
WATER The total area of all new water bodies on the site amounts to 101370 sq. feet, 1/9th of the area of the island. Also, the total collected and used water on the site amounts to 2.8 billion gallons.
Testing Productivity
Quantification of the Productive Systems of Shijomae Island The total site area of landfilled Shijomae island is 9143600 sq. feet (0.8 sq. km). To make the island more ecologically and economically productive, the land would have to be used efficiently to achieve our aim of a food and water positive neighborhood. The following is a brief quantification of how we intend to do so.
Soybean Cultivation 2.1 million calories/ acre Rice- 4.7 million calories/acre
AGRICULTURE Giving food production almost half the chunk of the site, we intend to make the island food positive. The total cultivation area amounts to 56 acres.
Potato Cultivation 17.8 million calories/ acre
154 lb of fish is consumed by 1 Japanese person annually.
Pea Cultivation - 3.6 million calories/acre
COMMUNITY ROOFTOP GARDENS Set aside for rooftop kitchen vegetable production activities. A total area of 5,460,300 sq. feet has been set aside.
FISHING Creating a fish breeding site around the barrage that produces 100 tonnes of fish annually, sufficient for the island residents, the excess is exported to other parts of the city.
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