NUS DoA M.ARCH1 OPTIONS STUDIO - REVITALISING TSUKIJI FISH MARKET by NUS Department of Architecture

YEAR 4 OPTIONS STUDIO COMPILATION OF SAMPLES

M.ARCH 1, STUDIO TSUTO SAKAMOTO

REVITALISING TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

MASTERS DESIGN PROJECTS

INTERESTS

PROJECT ATTRIBUTES

Masters Design Projects include those explored in two Options Design Research Studios (M.Arch 1), the Advanced Architecture Studio and the Thesis project in M.Arch 2. All studios may explore issues relevant to the interests of the Research Clusters, adjunct teachers and professors in practice. Students are encouraged to capitalise on faculty expertise in widening the scope of investigations which collectively strengthen the Thesis Project in M.Arch 2.

A good Masters project is one where:

Essential and Elective modules are useful in underpinning your Masters studio investigations. Although Options Design Research studios may be varied in content and method, students are advised to be selective and to use them as ‘learning runways’ to identify a Thesis topic and to apply accumulated knowledge there. The Advanced Architecture Studio preceding the Thesis may be used to explore thesis drivers in greater detail and focus. It is expected that the Thesis project will be the most comprehensive and extensive study of all the Masters Design Projects. _______________________________________________________________________________________

• the research process informs design strategy which can be followed through a coherent sequential process of explorations or iterations • the research generates an underlying order giving rise to a number of architectural or urban propositions • the research or issues engaged with, give rise to new solutions through design, some of which are singular, permutable or recombinant • it addresses the contextual specificities of site, material, spatial, culture and program and all of the above are communicated through architectural drawings, well-crafted models and annotations which curate a design process and outcome(s) that can be understood without a verbal presentation by the author Beyond a commitment to individual academic portfolios, Masters projects play an important role in characterising the discursive ethos of a design school. It is important that you do your best.

DESIGN AS INQUIRY Masters projects can be research investigations where design forms a principal mode of inquiry. Methods can be heuristic or empirical or in mixed modes of inquiry. There are a number of research methods in design investigations leading to different outcomes but they are by no means exhaustive: • textual/graphic analysis of theoretical concepts with investigations drawn from critical discourse using text references, works of art/representation • quantitative analysis to verify qualitative hypotheses with simulation, physical experiment, prototype testing and mixed methods • scenario-driven speculative design to suggest solutions to emergent need. The process in itself is a new way of seeing/thinking which generates many solutions. One version of a solution may be articulated spatially and in full materiality • new research knowledge is interpreted in architecture as a new way of thinking/making/experiencing • existing practices, processes or existing technologies are applied to design and which produce ‘unprecedented’ outcomes

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MASTERS DESIGN PROJECTS

INTERESTS

PROJECT ATTRIBUTES

A good Masters project is one where:

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RESEARCH CLUSTERS

ASIA RESEARCH FOCUS

III. TECHNOLOGIES

The Department positions itself as a design and research think-tank for architectural and urban development issues emerging in South Asia and SE Asia contexts. Graduate coursework in design engages with key challenges in population growth, industry, infrastructure, housing and environment, climate change and rapid economic change with disruptive technologies. In engaging with trans-boundary economies and technological change, the Department addresses concerns with the environmental impact of new settlements and cities on the natural environment in the light of climate change and on the threat to heritage and cultural presentation. MArch studios anticipate planning solutions through design explorations at various scales of intervention. The Master’s coursework are thus aligned to a core of five teaching groups viz. History Theory Criticism, Research by Design, Design Technologies, Urbanism and Landscape Studies. _______________________________________________________________________________________

The Technologies cluster investigates environmentally performative/sustainable building forms and systems,and generative-evaluative processes for designing liveable environments. Its research employs traditional and emerging technologies contributing to a new understanding of the human ecosystem, and emerging computational methods and techniques for discovering the relationships between form and performance. It researches on the relationship between human and natural landscapes, at every scale, from the building component scale to the urban scale. Special emphasis is placed on the context of high density Asian cities and the context of the Tropics.

I. HISTORY THEORY CRITICISM The History Theory Criticism cluster develops critical capacities to examine questions of architectural production, representation and agency within historical and contemporary milieu. Taking architecture and urbanism in Asia as its primary focus, members work in interdisciplinary and transnational modes. We explore a range of topics relating to colonial/postcolonial and modern/ postmodern Asian cities; aesthetics and technopolitics of tropical climate and the built environment; affective media including film, contemporary art and exhibitionary modes; heritage politics and emergent conservation practices. We develop discursive fronts through a variety of media and scales. The cluster research encompasses scholarly, creative and advocacy activities. Output includes monographs, edited volumes, research papers, architectural reviews in professional journals, curatorial practice, conservation work, film and photography, object-making, and policy-influencing advocacy work.

II. RESEARCH BY DESIGN The Research by Design cluster performs translational research through the practices of making as research rather than through traditional forms academic research. It links the importance of creating, drawing, and building with rigor, originality, and significance to produce innovative and creative designs that shape the built environment. Located strategically between the NorthSouth axis of rapidly urbanizing Asia and the East -West line of the tropical equator, the Research by Design cluster performs research through practice in three main themes: • Novel aesthetics of climatic calibration and performance; • Contemporary architectonics of fabrication, material, and resources contingent on South East Asia; and • Emergent spaces of inhabitation and production surrounding the equator.

IV. URBANISM With a comprehensive understanding of the complexity and distinctive characters of emerging urbanism in Asia, the vision is to develop sustainable models and innovative urban strategies to cope with various environmental, social, economic and technological challenges that Asian cities face today and in the future. Emergent urban issues related to community & participation, conservation & regeneration, ageing & healthcare, built form, modelling & big data, and resilience & informality are investigated from multiple perspectives and inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations to question conventional norms and conceptions and establish new visions for a sustainable urban future.

V. LANDSCAPE STUDIES The Landscape Studies cluster undertakes research to generate new knowledge of landscapes as socio-ecological systems and promotes the use of knowledge in governance systems and landscape design that improve the well-being of humans and the ecological integrity of the environment. The geographic focus is primarily high-density urban regions in Asia, but members of cluster also work in the transitional zones within the rural-urban continuum, where urban regions are expanding at a rapid rate into rural landscapes. The overall research approach is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary — we are concerned with not just advancing theoretical concepts and knowledge, but also applying the knowledge in practice and public policy to shape the environment. Our research areas cover a wide spectrum of socio-ecological dimensions of landscape, from landscape science, landscape management, to design research and socio-behavioural studies.

RESEARCH CLUSTERS

ASIA RESEARCH FOCUS

III. TECHNOLOGIES

Tsukiji Wo Mamore Revitalizing Tsukiji Fish Market

Tsuto Sakamoto Studio, NUS B.Arch Year 4 Semester 2, AY 17/18

Guest critics, lecturers and students Tsuto Sakamoto (Studio Tutor) Chaw Chih Wen (Guest Reviewer) Daniel Ayapillai (Guest Reviewer) Faris Akbar Hajamaideen (Guest Reviewer) Wong Chong Thai, Bobby (Guest Reviewer) Huang Wenjing (External Guest Reviewer) Alvan Ng Chung Er Pei Guo Jing ang Lee Zheng Yu Leo Shu Rui Lin An heng Melvin Tan Jia Herng Nur Syarafina Kamsani Sean Poon See Kum Wai Victoria Tay Pei Yun

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, the 23 hectare of space dedicated for fish trading, is the largest in the world today. In 2016, it dealt 440,000 tones – JPN 440 Billion or USD 3.9 Billion per year. Inaugurated in 1935, as a fish and vegetable market that consolidates all that were destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the facility was designed and built by Tokyo-City, and was considered as a modern architecture with a flavour of Destijl or Art Deco style. It included a portal-framed brokerage space, a reinforced concrete police station, post office, fermentation-space for Banana and washing machines for potato, nursery school for workers’ kids and others. As Toyo Ito mentions, the facility reflected a modernist’s ideal vision that we can even observe in the factories in Europe such as Van Nelle Factory in Netherlands. Currently, the facility trades the fish from all over the world. The space is most crowded at 3:30 AM, when the brokers’ auction starts. The Turret Trucks runs making ways among others, and gabbling voice of the sellers echo in the market. Blue fin Tunas, kuro maguro and other fish are arranged properly on wooden palettes while the brokers scrutinize them silently. The brokers use finger-signs instead of voice to communicate with sellers. Thus, some uncanny tranquillity hung in the air. As Shin-ichi Nakazawa, an anthropologist mentions, the space embodies a silent and professional practice without any ineffective talk. It is as if “a system of implicit knowledge” is only manifested in actions and events in the space.

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Now, the fish market is under a threat. The site facing Tokyo Bay and Sumida River, adjacent to Tsukiji Curb Markets, Hama Rikyu Garden is a premium commercial opportunity for new development. Ginza, one of the most prestigious commercial district on the northwest of the site is planning to expand its area to the seashore. Preparing for the proliferation of tourism in conjunction with Tokyo Olympic 2020, the site must be revitalized. Furthermore, the aging and unhygienic atmosphere of the facility is a main concern as it deals with foods. Based on the reasons, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government once decided to relocate the entire market to Toyosu, a reclaimed land further into Tokyo Bay, although the decision was recently suspended as high levels of toxic chemicals in the soil was found in the new site. Taking this contingent situation as an opportunity, the studio explores a possibility for alternative development ideas maintaining the existing fish market facility. Focusing on “a system of implicit knowledge” and how various players: fish, brokers, sellers, tourists and architecture contribute to the system of knowledge, the studio intends to encourage it for the new form of economy.

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

CONTRAST+CONTINUITY NUR SYARAFINA KAMSANI

Contrast & Continuity by Nur Syarafina Kamsani

IMPRESSION OF THE CITY As the city bids farewell to it’s much loved Tsukiji Market, the site will seek to find new meaning and relevance in the ever-changing world. The vertical food hall aims to breathe new life and purpose into this cultural icon while still maintaining it’s deep-rooted connection to the world of Japanese cuisine. RE IMAGINED TSUKIJI Even as the current Tsukiji dwindles down into silence as it prepares for it’s move to Toyusu, it does not stop the flock of visitors that are eager to get a glimpse into the working world of Tsukiji. This development aims to enhance the experience through intensification and introduction of restaurants to compliment the market. TOKYO’S PANTRY Tsukiji market remains close to the hearts of the local as the cultural icon for all that is fresh seafood. The best and the most exotic of produce enters the market each day. Through the introduction of restaurants, users will be exposed the food process from supply to consumption. Juxtaposition tradition and modernity, the development creates an all rounded dining experience. International and local techniques aims to educate the public on various ways food can be prepared

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Gallery Media & Broadcast Centre

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

TSUKIJI MACHINE SEAN POON

Tsukiji-Machine by Sean Poon

Tsukiji – a mythicised, romanticised, and venerated cultural institution, embodied with seemingly timeless rituals. Yet this is not the entire truth – it is a narrative maintained to express Tsukiji’s value to Japanese society, and a broader food culture and network. Tsukiji is at its heart a commercial entity, albeit one that strives to balance its practices against profitability, willing to adopt more efficient modes, especially if it does not compromise the narrative it has framed for itself. Faced with a challenge towards its future, and keen to retain its spatial-cultural narrative roots, Tsukiji must fully embrace the efficient, no, the hyperefficient. Tsukiji-Machine proposes an alternate, hyperefficient means of operation to Tsukiji to allow for this. Recognising the present market’s massive footprint, and timedependant operations, the scheme proposes hyper-densification and intensification of land and programmatic use. This manifest itself in a high-rise proposal of a market, that grounds its subsequent architectural and spatial moves in a parti-collage, that literally flips Tsukiji onto its side, to form a tower. In the process of creating this collage, a seemingly machine-like aesthetic emerges, and provides the metaphorical framework that shapes architectural strategy – the building is a machine. The market’s space is a flexible one, seemingly machine-like and almost post-human, it nevertheless serves to amplify the human operations that it houses. Furniture demarcate both function and programme, ceremonially pivoting along an axis to denote the oscillation between market and contemporary retail environment, between high-contemporary culture, and venerated historical ones.

Daikanyama — Curated, independent boutiques; a lifestyle destination - culturalised retail as a way of life Aoyama + Omotesando — Enfilades of shopping spaces, products on display, display as performance

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Impressions on Tokyo — Dense, never-ending metropolis, guarded by traditions and . A quote from Blade Runner 2049 comes to mind, “a system of cells interlinked, within cells interlinked, within cells interlinked, within one stem”. A city without ground “Sumimasen” - cheeky, but also alludes to the constant adaptation present within the urbanscape

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Preliminary Massing Model — From section to plan; teasing out spatial relationships in Tsukiji’s inner market Conceptual Collage — The insistent verticality of the city; the intersection between commerce and mechanical systems, history and structure

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

1:750 Section Concept Model — From section to plan; teasing out spatial relationships in Tsukiji’s inner market A network of follies — A superimposed series of follies, housing venerated culturalised programmes (in a parallel to Tsukiji’s status), intertwined with a network of vertical-to-horizontal circulation

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

1:500 Model — Towering above the Namiyoke Shrine, Tsukiji-Machine takes formalistic and spatial cues from the original Tsukiji market

1:200 Part Model — An experiment with facade composition Overall Axonometric — Highlighting the core’s relationship with the rest of the building, from loading/ unloading, to commercial operations. Also highlights the 3 changing modes of the market’s furniture, to demarcate the different operation times and types

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Metallic Fish — The heart of Tsukiji-Machine - analagous to the turret-trucks and their network, a central core that handles the logistical components of the scheme, from transportation to cold-storage, to waste material (water and organic) removal. 1:200 Part Model — Photographed to highlight the backbone of the scheme - the logistic core. This core both metaphorically and physically supports the market - the market’s slabs cantilever off it.

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

1:100 Car Parking System Model — The notion of hyperefficiency so fundemental to this scheme mandates the use of space under driveways - in this case they function as exhibition/gallery spaces for when the carpark is not in operation, accessible by stairways that mechanically move down when necessary. Vertical Triptych of Systems — Conceived to express three concerns: 1. Core-to-market functions, 2. Market-to-folly relationship, 3. Inflow and outflow of goods

1:200 Part Model — Photographed to highlight the overall composition of follies to trivision prism facade to circulatory pathways

Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Above A hyperefficient, commodifed object — Building as machine, building as billboard; an underground sorting area becomes an arena of spectacle during its twilight operating hours, illuminating the structure with a gentle glow.

An Instance of a Folly: Sushi Bar — The follies, intended to house culturallyvenerated commercial programmes, is intended to be inward-looking (i.e. towards the core). No Man’s Land — From section to plan; teasing out spatial relationships in Tsukiji’s inner market

100 Tsukiji Wo Mamore

Tsukiji Wo Mamore 101

YEAR 4 OPTIONS STUDIO COMPILATION OF SAMPLES

M.ARCH 1, STUDIO TSUTO SAKAMOTO

IMAGE CREDIT: MELVIN TAN JIA JERNG