The Loop at Shinagawa, Urban Ecological Design- Spring 2021

Introduction Urban resiliency and optimizing networks following frequent natural and man-made disasters has been a concern. The pandemic has also brought into forefront the need for urban sustainability with internally connected networks of food, energy, water and its conveyance.

Site Potential Shinagawa’s geographic location makes it the ideal hub connecting cities like Tokyo with the rest of the world. Today, it is a Business district well connected to the Haneda Airport, the Shinagawa railway station, and the Takanawa Gateway station, and further developments envisioned for the high speed maglev train.

High density development in the area and the increased footfall by the upcoming maglev train is going to demand vibrant open public spaces. The existing site of the Shibaura water reclamation plant in strategic proximity to the Takanawa Station offers the possibility of new vertical ground to support a new framework of an engaging and productive landscape.

Inspiration Food Foraging tradition of Japan: In a collection of Japanese poems of ancient and modern times ‘Kokin Wakashu’, there is a focus on growing edible-wild plants ‘sansai’.

Quoting botanist Kosaku Wada, “Japan has relied on sansai to stave off starvation on a number of events in the past”.

Background: Agriculture Urban farming can be a great opportunity to produce food for the local neighborhood, reduce the pressure on transportation and form a sustainable network by incorporating nutrients from the waste water around.

Japan produces one third of the food the country consumes. In just one decade, the agricultural land use has diminished by over 40 percent due to urbanization regardless of the population being fairly constant.

Japan’s urban area contributes 3% more agricultural yield in terms of rural farming. The urban areas have a higher potential for agriculture and can become a sustainable prototype for the city.

Background: Water More than just a sewage treatment plant discharging treated water into the Tokyo Bay Canal, the Shibaura water reclamation plant reuses some volumes of water towards cleaning purposes (train washing), coolant for machines and flushing toilets, to create a highly efficient system.

The Plant currently treats greywater and stormwater, while the sludge is transported to Morigasaki plant 10 km away and then to the Nanbu Sludge treatment plant.

Food Markets

Michelin star restaurants

Goals for proposed framework

Urban Design Framework

Urban Design Strategies

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5 1-5 levels 450,000 sqft 2- 1 level 20,400 sqft 3-1 level 32,000 sqft 4-5 levels 240,000 sqft 5-51,000 sqft

The pedestrian bridge has vine crops like tomatoes, cucumber that are served with the flow of nutrients

Project USP Increase footfall and walkability Reduce travel time for pedestrians Better connectivity Public infrastructure based on improving the landscape ecology

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Creating agricultural systems, Gundula Proksch S. Bernstein, Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together (Gabriola, BC: New Society, 2011) Diagram from Howard M. Resh, Hydroponic Food Production: A Definitive Guidebook for the Advanced Home Gardener and the Commercial Hydroponic Grower (Boca Raton, FL: New concept Press, 2013) Shibaura water Reclamation Center. (n.d.).

Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.gesui.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/english/aboutus/center01/index.html Center for Science and Environment, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment (DWWT). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.cseindia.org/decentralised-wastewater-treatment-dwwt--1714

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Creating agricultural systems, Gundula Proksch S. Bernstein, Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together (Gabriola, BC: New Society, 2011) Diagram from Howard M. Resh, Hydroponic Food Production: A Definitive Guidebook for the Advanced Home Gardener and the Commercial Hydroponic Grower (Boca Raton, FL: New concept Press, 2013) Shibaura water Reclamation Center. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.gesui.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/english/aboutus/center01/index.html Center for Science and Environment, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment (DWWT). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.cseindia.org/decentralised-wastewater-treatment-dwwt--1714 Ahmadi, Leila, & Merkley, Gary P. (2017). “Wastewater reuse potential for irrigated agriculture”. Irrigation Science, 35(4), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0539-7 Moreno-Peñaranda, R. (2011) "Japan’s Urban Agriculture: Cultivating Sustainability and Well-being." United Nations University. Retrieved from https://unu.edu/publications/articles/japan-s-urban-agriculture-what-does-the-future-hold.html Nink, E. (2015). "Ten Unique Urban Agriculture Projects in Tokyo." Foodtank. Retrieved from https://foodtank.com/news/2015/02/tokyos-ten-mostnotable-urban-agriculture-projects/ Sorensen, A. (2002) The Making of Urban Japan : Cities and Planning from Edo to the twenty-first century.

Wielemaker, Rosanne, Wilken, Carolin, Chen, Wei-Shan, Oenema, Oene, & Weijma, Jan. (2020). Resource Dynamo: A GIS model to match urban nutrient supply with agricultural demand. Journal of Cleaner Production, 258, 120789.

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