TOKYO
Space-Speculation
Research report n째1
2011 3
CONTENTS
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TOKYO SPACE-SPECULATION Introduction by Geoffrey Grulois. Photographic Survey Exploring the Yamanote line by Julien Deloffre & Geoffrey Grulois
5 HUBS, 5 PROJECTS Hachiko reconfiguration by Yannick Vanhaelen.
p.6 p.8 p.24
p.42 p.46
Dual Omotesando by Sylvain Guillaume & Pauline Varloteaux. p.70 Roppongi Avenue by Pierre Escobar.
p.96
Otaku world by Charles de Finance.
p.120
Shinjuku common ground by Thibault Claessens.
p.144
ADDITIONALS
p.160
Competition entry: p.162 Tokyo Fashion Museum by Simon Bidal and ValentinThĂŠvenot.
CREDITS
p.184
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INTRODUCTION
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A retroactive manifesto to the Tokyo Space Speculation project The potential of transport infrastructure Geoffrey Grulois
The space speculation studio conceives design as part of an inductive process of urban research. Each semester, an empirical study of a specific metropolitan condition explores a wide range of new hypothesis. During the first semester of 2010, Tokyo was analyzed with the aim to reevaluate the question of transport infrastructure in the city. Tokyo was chosen in order to open up the approach and to distance itself from the European postmodern view of mobility. As an example of the European postmodern mobility, Brussels’ recent history exemplifies the dramatic denial of modern transport infrastructure in the city. The construction of the northsouth railway junction, the subway tunnels, and the highway viaducts have long been seen as responsible for the destruction of public spaces and of the quality of the urban environment. The north, west and south train stations and surroundings are stigmatized as worthless urban space due to the presence of large-scale railway infrastructure. Tokyo allows us to question this dogmatic viewpoint by exploring the potential of railway infrastructure and of intermodal nodes in restructuring the urban space. The research was implicitly motivated by the acknowledgement that in the near future, European cities such as Brussels will have to face a massive modal shift to public transport if they want to overcome the dramatic problem of traffic congestion and pollution. The Space Speculationdesign studio is currently undertaking a research on Brussels that will soon be published and will show that this modal shift can only be realized by considering the railway infrastructure as the backbone of urban redevelopment. Therefore, the research on Tokyo and its present report are the first step in reevaluating the vital role of railway infrastructure of metropolitan cities. In combination, all research on Tokyo and Brussels should allow us to overcome the postmodern assumption that large-scale transport infrastructures are - de facto - damaging the quality of the urban fabric and of public space. In contrast, the Tokyo project reveals that transport infrastructure and intermodal nodes can regain the central role they once assumed in the European modern metropolis.
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PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY
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TOKYO TRIP 11-25 December 2009 -Kiyonori KIKUTAKE
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PROJECTS REVIEW 28-29 June 2010 Jury :
-Maurizio COHEN -Jean ENGLEBERT -Murielle HLADIK -Sarah LEVY -Dimitri MEESSEN -Francis METZGER -Yuhichiro SUZUKI
Students : -Guillaume SYLVAIN -Pauline VARLOTEAUX -Simon BIDAL -Valentin THEVENOT
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EXHIBITION 6-29 July 2010 Cultural and Information Center of the Embassy of Japan in Belgium.
18 August - 18 September 2010 Faculty of Architecture ULB, La Cambre / Horta. Visit of Jun YOKOTA, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Belgium.
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TOKYO
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TOKYO SPACE SPECULATION - RESEARCH REPORT N째1
TOKYO EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
Research and speculation on the structure of the Yamanote railway line focusing on the heterogeneity and the polycentrism of the urban fabric. Investigation on the multiplicity of Tokyo architectural and infrastructural typology. Identification of five challenging urban hubs: Omotesando, Shibuya, Roppongi, Akihabara and Shinjuku
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PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
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TOKYO: Exploring The Yamanote Line Julien Deloffre & Geoffrey Grulois
1. The legacy of transport infrastructure
Tokyo, the city of apparent chaos, captivates contemporary architects and urbanists by defying the principles of western urbanism: coherence, order and hierarchy. Unlike most European cities, Tokyo was not subject to a modernization process such as the ‘haussmanization’ based on the piercing of large boulevard framed by monumental street façade. The modern process of upgrading road infrastructure remains largely incomplete today, since Tokyo has maintained most of the small-scale road network of the Edo period. Land readjustment projects for the enlargement of roads have been continuously slowed down by the stronghold of land ownership and land price prohibitions. Fortunately, this apparent drawback has been a major advantage to sustaining the leading role of railway infrastructure as the transportation backbone of the city. Railway technology was imported to Japan at the end of the XIX century. But unlike the west, railway transport was not overcome by private car mobility in the second part of the XX century.
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During the XX century, the road network was never upgraded in order to cope with the increasing demand for individual transport in this growing metropolis. This lack of public investment in road infrastructure has progressively resulted in the fortunate inability to develop a mobility based on private car ownership. In contrast, private corporations such as Tokyu, Oddakyu and Seibu have strategically achieved to extend railway lines in the suburbs and to develop commercial facilities and housing around stations. As a result Tokyo sustains a mobility based of more than 60% on public transport and railway infrastructure.
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PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
Urban fabric catalog 29
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PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
TOKYO TYPOLOGY
TYPE BIG ZSCALE
WHERE
IMAGE
PROGRAM
HOW
offices housing mixed use
SPECIAL BUILDINGS
train stations schopping malls special programs
GREEN SPACES
temples palaces infrastructures
SMALL SCALE
housing proximity shops proximity leisure
ELEVETED CIRCULATION
highways trainways pedestrianways
MEDIUM SCALE
leisure shops offices
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2. The cognitive role of railway infrastructure
According to aesthetic reasons, western cities have tended to hide modern transport infrastructure such as railways and highways underneath the urban fabric. In contrast, Tokyo’s transport infrastructures have often been harshly superimposed on the existing city. Highway and railway viaducts, station buildings and pedestrian decks shape a landscape of stacked infrastructures. The visual disorder caused by the presence of these infrastructures is reinforced by the lack of any building alignment. Earthquake proof regulations require detaching buildings and also require a system of FAR (Floor Area Ratio) bonus which encourages developers to build with a set back from the street. As a result, the city is built as an ultra densified urban sprawl. Each building seems to evolve individually and contribute to the heterogeneity of the urban fabric.
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Furthermore, the land division is subject to a process of differentiation. In order to face increasing land tax and rebuilding costs, landowners tend to split up building lots, while on the other hand government and developers tend to merge lots in order to build large-scale buildings and privatized public spaces. These conflicting strategies are applied according to real estate opportunities without any concern for urban design coherence. They reinforce the heterogeneity of the urban fabric and the lack of visual intelligibility. As a result, transport infrastructures appear as the only possible means to potentially sustain a physical and visual order in the city. Within the inorganic chaos of the ultradensified urban sprawl, railway infrastructures can become tools to redefine the boundary of qualitative public space.
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PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
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3. Yamanote subcenter as lynchpin
According to the visual disorder of the city, one does not orientate oneself according to axis of boulevards and monuments, but to the railway transport network. The city is experienced as an archipelago of urban islands connected by a network of public transport. The few elements that structure this chaotic landscape are the transport infrastructure superimposed onto the urban fabric. Among them, the Yamanote railway loop plays a central role. It defines a clear concentric frontier of central Tokyo and organizes intermodal stations where commuters transit from railway to subway. As a result, the Yamanote articulates the daily life of Tokyo citizens. Typically, an office worker of a Japanese corporation starts his daily transit on a radial railway line coming from the residential suburbs and changes at a Yamanote station to a subway line. Commuters shuttle between their professional activity often located inside the Yamanote loop and their housing which is often situated in the deep suburbs because of unbalanced land prices. This zoning process at metropolitan scale results both from a centripetal force concentrating offices inside the Yamanote and propelling housing onto the periphery of the metropolitan organization. In-between these two daily antipodes, leisure and work, many radial transport lines circulate which are operated by private cooperations.
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This efficient system of mobility is organized according to a discipline of self-control characteristic of Japanese society. Each individual action is restrained in order not to disturb the smooth space of public transport. This regulated space of flux contrasts with the entertainment space of the sakariba, located around the intermodal stations of the Yamanote. In the evening, commuters can escape the disciplinary space of work and of transit for a few hours. Fashion shops, karaoke bars, love hotels and thematic restaurants offer a space of subjectivity and transgression where each one can freely live his own style without any constraint on the system. However since the 1980s the public space of these popular subcenters has been invaded by the commercial monopoly of large corporations. The unregulated public space of the sakariba tends to become a space regulated by the logic of fashion and profit. Private corporations responsible for railway development continuously extend their business by incorporating commercial facilities around transport nodes.
of Transportation. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including Tokyo and Shinjuku. Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE Tokyo area, the Kanto region, and the islands of Kyosho and Shikoku.
SUBWAY SYSTEM 24
METRO LINES
METRO LINES
SPECIAL LINES
METRO LINES
YAMANOTE LINE SPECIAL LINES
JR LINES
SPECIAL LINES YAMANOTE LINE
ODEO LINE JR LINES
TOEI LINES 25
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TOKYO CENTRES Tokyo, for a few years, had a politic of pluricentrism. The city developed centers around the Yamanote with different themes and functions. These centres have a common caracteristic of being intermodal knots. Since a few years, this politic has been put aside and new centres within the Yamanote region have been developed. The reason of this change is a wish to densify Tokyo to counter the massive sprawl of the city and to unify the different centers into one big metropolitan centre.
SHIBUYA
yamanote line ginza line fukutoshine line hanzomon line
2.4 million passengers / Days
Transit Schopping Love hotels entertainement
SHINJUKU
yamanote line chuo line maranuchi line odeo line shinzuku line
3.64 million passengers / Day
Transit slots nightlife administration
IKEBUKURO
yamanote line maranuchi line fukutoshin line yarukucho line
2.71 million passengers / Day
Transit Schopping entertainement Sunshine city
UENO
yamanote line shinkanzen line ginza line hibaya line keisei line
1.8 million passengers / Day
Schopping temples parks markets
yamanote line shinkanzen line sobu line chuo line keiyo line marunuchi line
2.1 million passengers / Day
Transit Buisness Park entertainement
yamanote line shinkanzen line ginza line asakusa line odeo line
2.4 million passengers / Day
Transit Schopping water entertainement
900000 passengers / Days
Nightlife Schopping Love hotels buisness
850000 passengers / Days
eat/drink Schopping buisness entertainement
TOKYO/GINZA
SHINBASHI
hibaya line hanzomon line namboku line
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ginza line marunuchi line hanzomon line namboku line yurakucho line
PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
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4. Transport infrastructure as the backbone of public space
The 5 projects selected in this research report acknowledge the strategic role of the transport infrastructure and the intermodal subcenter, in specific, in structuring the chaotic landscape of Tokyo. The research focuses on 4 significant subcenters of the Yamanote loop: Omotesando, Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku and one emerging subcenter located at the center of the Yamanote loop: Roppongi. In a first step the report analyzes the stakes and defines the specific identity of each intermodal subcenter. The investigations of these subcenters demonstrate that public space, infrastructure and architecture are conceived according to functional and commercial strategies. Each project questions the design of the existing infrastructure in order to create qualitative public space intended for new modes of appropriation beyond the functional and commercial means. In a certain way, each project suggests that infrastructural design can go beyond the problem of flux to offer large public space separated from the logic of capitalism. They intend to create space for the expression of individual freedom in-between the disciplinary space of flux and shopping.
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Furthermore, the project for Roppongi suggests that the poly-nuclear organization of the Yamanote loop could be qualitatively applied to a new transversal line crossing Tokyo East-West by taking advantage of an existing highway viaduct. All together these projects explore a new planning strategy for Tokyo revealing the potential of transport infrastructure and intermodal nodes in redefining a qualitative public space and an architecture for the contemporary metropolis.
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5 HUBS, 5 PROJECTS 5 stories, 5 identities, 5 visions.
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PART II: PROJECTS
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SHIBUYA Shibuya is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In 2008 it had an estimated population of 208,371 inhabitants and a density of 13,540 inhabitants per km2 on a total area of 15.11 km2. The name “Shibuya” is equally used to refer to the central business district of Shibuya Ward, which surrounds Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations. Following the inauguration of the Yamanote Line in 1885, Shibuya emerged as a railway terminal for southwestern Tokyo and eventually as a major commercial and entertainment center. It was declared a village in 1889, a town in 1909, a ward of Tokyo City in 1932, and a ward of Tokyo Metropolis in 1943. The present-day special ward was established in 1947. One of the most well-known stories concerning Shibuya is the story of Hachiko, a dog who waited on his late master at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935, eventually becoming a national celebrity for his loyalty. A statue of Hachiko was built adjacent to the station, and the surrounding Hachiko Square is now the most popular meeting point in the area. Shibuya has achieved great popularity among young people in the last 30 years. There are several famous fashion department stores in Shibuya. “Shibuya 109” is a major shopping center near Shibuya Station. The contemporary fashion scene in Shibuya extends northward from Shibuya Station to Harajuku, where youth culture reigns; Omotesando, the zelkova tree- and fashion brand-lined street; and Sendagaya, Tokyo’s apparel design district. During the late 1990s, Shibuya also became known as the center of the IT industry in Japan. It was often called “Bit Valley” in English, a pun of “Bitter Valley” the literal translation of “Shibuya”. Shibuya is also famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachiko exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to flood the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks Café overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world.
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SHIBUYA HACHIKO RECONFIGURATION
Untying a congested infrastructural knot to create an ‘enlightening’ public space.
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PART IV: SHIBUYA
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TOKYO SPACE SPECULATION - RESEARCH REPORT N°1
SHIBUYA: Hachiko reconfiguration Yannick Vanhaelen
1. SUMMARY Shibuya is a perfect example of a city purely engineered for one specific purpose: consumption and communication. The mostly private development interests based on this consumption and communication result in an undecipherable collection of functional urban entities, covered in advertisement trompe-l’oeils and potemkin architecture. This urban setting creates an intense experience of congestion and chaos determined by the railway infrastructures and the private interests, which define Tokyo’s urban image. Although, in the past, Shibuya has been depicted as the city of tomorrow, its recent impact is not as breathtaking as it was in the scenography of blade runner. (Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young). Nowadays, Shibuya’s urban configuration only conveys a strange feeling of science fiction nostalgia, its glory long forgotten: the train station and its chaotic urban space have become inadequate to fulfill their purpose. In effect, Shibuya station needs a renewal.
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The project proposes a renewal of Shibuya station based on spatial assumptions. While exaggerating the current identity of Shibuya, its culture of congestion is used as a tool to reconfigure Shibuya station’s urban space to the fullest. This creates a new paradigm of ‘flow space’ which entails a new icon on an urban scale. The train station is important because it functions as a public domain and urban framework. This project explores a new typology in the form of a gigantic urban infrastructure that introduces new standards in terms of the definition of public space and urban landscape. The project further questions the influence of the private development sector on the reshaping of the city; what power their interests have and how they can be solved in a win-win situation.
PART IV: SHIBUYA
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2. GENERAL OVERVIEW SHIBUYA STATION
SHIBUYA SUBCENTER
Shibuya station is an intricate network of the different transport systems available in Tokyo: nine train lines of which five are aerial, 34 bus lines and one express-way. Being the 4th largest station in Tokyo, it is the most important mobility key location in the West of greater Tokyo and is one of the most valuable areas of the city.
As a leading sub-center of Tokyo, Shibuya is world-known for its fashion, leisure activities and tourism. You can open any tourist guide about Japan or Tokyo and you will surely fall upon a photo of Shibuya. However, Shibuya does not only find its popularity among the tourists since many a Tokyoite relishes Shibuya as one of the hot spots of Tokyo. No matter when, during the week or on the week-end, Shibuya’s shopping and leisure delights lure in hundreds of thousands of users day after day.
In the beginning, Shibuya station was primarily used as a commuter station, linking the suburbs to Tokyo’s vibrant inner city and the Yamanote line. Today, Shibuya connects two important transport systems: The central metro system and the greater West Tokyo commuter train lines. An average of 3,6 million passengers pass through Shibuya every day.
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Shibuya is an urban black hole: it unceasingly attracts people, activities and development.
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA Trains
Expressway Expressway 3 -1964 Tanimachi JCT-Yoga 741,163 users /day
FUKUTOSHIN line -2008 Tokyo Metro HANZOMON line -1978 Tokyo Metro 259,609 users /day
Bus
GINZA line -1938 Tokyo Metro 472,123 users /day YAMANOTE line -1885 JR East 891,460 users /day
34 BUS lines 67,982 users/day
Total 3,061,117 users/day
INOKASHIRA line -1933 KEIO Corp. 343,697 users /day DEN-EN-TOSHI line -1977 TOKYU Corp. 414,833 users /day TOYOKO line -1927 TOKYU Corp. 603,435 users /day
Ikebukuro
Shinjuku
Tokyo Shimotakaido
SHIBUYA
Meguro Osaki Futako-tamagawa Shin-yurigaoka Den-en-chofu Miyamaedaira Tamagawa Azamino
Oimachi
Motosumiyoshi
Kamata
Hiyoshi
Kodomonokuni
Kawasaki Nagatsuta Nakayama Chuo-rinkan
Futamatagawa
Okurayama Shin-yokohama
Yokohama
Influence Zone of Shibuya Station inTokyo South-West Area: 490 km2 (approx. 1/3 area of London) Population: 4,97 million Households: 2,42 million Population growth per year: +6.5% (nationwide: -2%) Average population age remains unchanged till 2030, after 2030 tendancy for older society Commuters to Shibuya Station: 1,075 million (1/5 of population)
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SHIBUYA STATION
TOKYO SOUTH-WEST RAILWAY TOKYO SOUTH-WEST
OPERATED BY TOKYU CORP.
TOKYOCENTER CENTER SUBWAY TOKYO
OPERATED BY JR East CORP. TOKYO METRO CORP. TOEI CORP.
3,61 millions users a day
Step out STOP Step in
Go to Greater Tokyo COMMUTER
Change lines or vehicule INTERMODAL
As one of the key mobility nodes of Tokyo, Shibuya links together two transportation systems: the center metro system and the greater Tokyo commuter trains. 56
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA Shopping district YOUNG, FASHION, SUBCULTURE, COOL, KOGAL, O.L., TOURISTS... THEY ALL SHOP IN SHIBUYA
Leisure Spot KARAOKE BAR & CLUB RESTAURANT ARCADE
H
O
M
E
G
D IN R K A OR W AY D
H
Tourist attraction
As one of the most leading subcenters of Tokyo, Shibuya daily attracts hundreds of thousands of people for shopping and entertainment. 57
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3. ANALYSIS TOKYU The urban development of Shibuya, turning it into a sub-center of Tokyo, is not based on the natural socioeconomic growth, but was forced by the strategies of the railway corporation Tokyu. REALM The Tokyu Corporation invested early on in Shibuya and created a successively developing commuter station and shopping hot spot. Their strategic development has been able to accommodate the development of the city up to this day. Since 1961 the Tokyu Co. has made a significant change of direction and has developed a strong commercial and cultural identity around Shibuya, which was possible through its new sub agency the Tokyu Agency Inc. that dealt with the advertising and strategies of the corporation. With the “109 brand” as the major advertising force, Tokyu successfully created a Specialized Urban Form (S.U.F.) in Shibuya, bestowing upon it successful dynamics. “We examine consumer analyses and employ our creativity to present a story that makes the brand irresistible to consumers, we then construct strategies that increase sales further” Tokyu Agency Inc. 58
SHIBUYA
A Tokyu Corp. Product
«Towards a beautifull age»
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA 1. Yamanote station
1885
2. Commuter station for suburbs 1927
TOYOKO LINE STATION
YAMANOTE LINE
3. Corporate Strategy
1935
4. Corporate Development
1959
TOKYU PLAZA TOKYU DPTMNT STORES
GINZA LINE
5. Shopping mall extension
6. Corporate monopoly
1979
2000
CERRULEAN TOWER TOKYU 109 Š MARKT CITY
Q-FRONT TOKYU 109 -2
TOKYU INN
1953 Tokyu real estate 1956 Tokyu tourist 1960 Tokyu hotels
1922 Tokyu starts as a small transportation company
1934 Tokyu opens its first department store in a station
109 109-2 109 ...
1961 Tokyu air travel 1961 Tokyu Agency inc.
Client
Tokyu Agency
Q-front
Consumer
Markt city
SHIBUYA IDENTITY
The evolution and growth of the Tokyu Corporation in Shibuya or the importance of the private sector in the urban development of Tokyo. 59
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4. ISSUES INFRASTRUCTURE Due to its success, Shibuya Station has continuously grown and adapted itself over the years with new infrastructures that were simply added to the existing core. The additions have become so complex, that the overall station has become an undecipherable and awkward giant, unable to fulfill its primary objectives of draining flux of people. URBAN FORM Over the years, the Shibuya District has specialized itself in consumption, leisure activities and communication. Yet, as the buildings kept growing higher and denser, the public space became smaller and smaller, inadequate to accommodate the millions of users. As a result the urban space today is specialized but inept and needs to be reconsidered. TOKYU CORPORATION Although the Tokyu Corporation is the developing power responsible for the success of the Shibuya, it has remained in the background, unwilling to proclaim its investments and strategies. Now that Shibuya is in need of a face lift, the Tokyu Corporation is adamant to apply itself to the new urban transformation, lacking however a clear vision for the project. 60
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA
Multiple station extensions over the years have led to an organic infrastructural growth, making the station one of the most unintelligible space in Tokyo. 61
TOKYO SPACE SPECULATION - RESEARCH REPORT N째1
ON A BUSY DAY... HACHIKO SQUARE 3,000 peoples
E-2 2
Karaoke
People Bar
Restaurant
Arcade
Shopping
6 people/m2 People
Roads
PUBLIC SPACE
ON A BUSY DAY... ON A BUSY DAY... HACHIKO SQUARE HACHIKO SQUARE 3,000 peoples 3,000 peoples
6 people/m2
PUBLIC SPACE NEARLY AS FULL EMU CAR E-231-500 EMUE-231-500 CAR 208 passengers 208 passengers
6 people/m2
8 people/m 2
8 people/m 2
The high density of activities and the urban setting dedicated to road traffic have led SPACE AS FULL AS AtoMETRO... PUBLIC SPACE AS FULL ASis A METRO... to a situation where PUBLIC the density NEARLY of people onNEARLY the public space comparable that in a tokyoite metro, overcrowding the public space which is unadapted to its uses. 62
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA
Headquarters in Shibuya
TOKYU RETAIL 123,644 sq.m.
TOKYU LEISURE & SERVICES
TOKYU HOTELS 1044 rooms
TOKYU REAL ESTATE
TOKYU TRANSPORTATION
Being omni-present in Shibuya, Tokyu is the true ‘player’ of the sub-center. With enough ressources and properties, the corporation is able to change the face of Shibuya. Tokyu already proposed projects to renovate and develop the real estate around the Station. 63
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5. PROJECT STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE The obvious need of renovation, offers a new opportunity to completely rethink the overall design of the Shibuya Station. The project proposes a new radical setting that creates an unexpected potential in the core of the building: a gigantic piranesian urban space. This piranesian space enables commuters to map the station and the larger context of Shibuya. URBAN SPACE Freed of vehicles and traffic, the public space is merged with the train station so as to become a continuous interior. This unexpected urban structure blends the mobility and the consumption frenzy. Its roof acts as a new public connection, anticipating the future densification of Shibuya. TOKYU CORPORATION The new infrastructure would need to be financed by the Tokyu Corporation, the main economic and real estate power active in this area. This new development foresees a clear connection between various buildings around Shibuya owned by Tokyu, thus allowing the Corporation to represent itself within the public realm, while promoting a strong public image through its design and potential. 64
PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA
The infrastructural layout is reconsidered in a straight forward reasoning: The framing layout englobes a new urban form that is able to develop the station as a public domain. To be prgmatic, this layout allows the continuous use of the station even during construction. 65
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INCOMES RETAIL & TRANSPORTATION
BUILDING PERMIT DEROGATION
SHIBUYA USERS & SHOPPERS
SHIBUYA CITY COUNCIL
IMPROVEMENT OF DAILY LIFE
FUNDING OF SHIBUYA STATION
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PART II: PROJECTS > SHIBUYA
Station center Ticket counters Waiting hall Info space Schedules
Access aerian railway+2 Ginza line
Access aerian railway +1 Yamanote line
Taxi station Taxi queue Drop-on/off
Roads New aerian road system
Highway connection Connection between expressway -3 and road system Bus station
Underground access -5 Fukutoshin line Den-en-toshi line Toyoko line Hanzomon line Underground access -5 Fukutoshin line Toyoko line Underground access -2 Den-en-toshi line Hanzomon line
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OMOTESANDO
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OMOTESANDO DUAL OMOTESANDO
Can a viaduct change the commercial destiny of the most fancy avenue in Tokyo?
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PART IV: OMOTESANDO I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
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OMOTESANDO: Dual omotesando Pauline Varloteaux & Sylvain Guillaume
Omotesando, avenue of oppositions, projects a multitude of possibilities beyond the obvious antagonisms: dualities are revealed; their existence needs to be affirmed. This commercial avenue embellished with European flare (the Champs ElysĂŠes of Tokyo) struts six lanes of automobile traffic that inevitably block the diagonal circulation and inhibit the comfortable strolling from side to side. This unfortunate metamorphosis of the street that has taken place during the last few decades makes one forget its primary purpose: that of being the cultural axe leading to the Meiji temple. Furthermore, the compilation of flagship stores induces a commercial frenzy that excludes all alternative urban culture in the background of the ever-changing avenue. In this congested commercialized urban space, how can one redefine the space for a dynamic urban culture? The genuine opportunity originates in the natural relief of the avenue. The spatial affluence generated by the avenue offers the opportunity to incorporate a linear infrastructure that regenerates a dense urban culture.
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PART I: EXPLORING THE YAMANOTE LINE
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TOKYO SPACE SPECULATION - RESEARCH REPORT N°1
2. GENERAL OVERVIEW OMOTESANDO: An island in the network
OMOTESANDO STREET: Flagship store Avenue
Starting at the Yoyogi Park and the Harajuku metro station, Omotesando Avenue stretches over a kilometer, crossing multiple subway lines and street axis on its path.
Omotesando is the flagship store avenue par excellence. These flagship stores are created as representative architecture for international brands. While being the materialization of the brands’ image and notoriety, the flagship stores are not a condition of the brands’ success but rather a logical consequence. Their outstanding design embodies the brands and traces a sensitive connection with the consumer.
Although locally, the avenue is located in the middle of an important street network, it does not constitute an important link on the larger road network of Tokyo. Despite its six road lanes, it is one of the rare avenues of Tokyo that is bordered with trees and that thus extends the green of the Yoyogi Park into the commercial folly of the avenue.
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As a successful new marketing concept, the flagship store buildings have colonized the landscape of Omotesando Avenue. How can one engage in this environment that has been disreputed, so as to enable a new perception of the flagship stores?
PART II: PROJECTS > OMOTESANDO
chiyoda line Chiyoda line
Yamanoteyamanote
Hanzomon line hanzomon line chiyoda line
Ginza line Meiji-Jungmae MEIJI-JINGUMAE
Harajuku
HARAJUKU
OMOTESANDO
Omotesando
Harajuku station and subway lines
Omotesando Yoyogi park
Omotesando: green boulevard
Road system: loops Omotesando breaks the loop
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