This is a proposal to summarize what should be done with water and greenery to help Tokyo Frontier be successful. This is a proposal planned to produce a great result if the outcome of the reviews performed in an architectural plan and event plan was to be assembled based on this plan.
Based on the plan for the new subcenter and on the process of the conference held for experts and the learned, we thought it most effective to structure this district as a “circular city”.
One of the techniques used in Japanese gardening is called “circular gardens”. A circular garden is a tempo art like music as well as a spatial art where one enjoys the changing scenes as one walks through it. Furthermore, it is a comprehensive art work utilizing nature which appeals to all the senses in ways of stimulating the feet with such materials as stone bridges, earthen bridges, paving stones and stepping stone and presenting the strides, turning of a path, rises and falls and sounds of flowing water, of walking on fallen leaves or of birds chirping. It conforms greatly with the modern idea of an “environmental symbiosis city. Meanwhile, Tokyo Frontier has the following facilities: view from the Tokyo Bay Access Bridge, Odaiba Historic Site Park, Odaiba Urban Resort, District No. 13 Park, Telecom Center, Oumi Pavilion Complex, Eco Park, Ariake District Exposition Complex, and International Exposition Center and Coliseum.
Those constitute the mosaic structure of a “circular city”, and we thought that the disadvantage of their disperse location should be turned to an advantage by networking the facilities.
The aim of this “Water and Greenery Plan” is to create, say, “green/water network space” which provides a good environment and scenery for those facilities. Our plan proposes a compound building complex, a part of which is multistoried in order to preserve space for water and greenery. The research on this idea was summarized after reviewing a number of opinions and investigations. Behind this appear three messages from us towards the 2lst century of this city.
･ First, at the level of the Earth
We attempted to create a “Water and Greenery Network” which is sensitive to the Earth in this new subcenter.
･ Second, at the level of Japan
We attempted to create a “Mosaic city with Water and Greenery” which “provides humans with diverse attractions” in this city where one of the biggest district redevelopment plans in Japan is implemented.
･ Third, at the level of Tokyo
We attempted to create an ideal way for a “new imaginary scenery of a new city” based on the history of Edo-Tokyo and the primary scene peculiar to Japan such as Mt. Fuji and cherry blossoms.
Hoping to realize those three wishes, we conveyed a message to the new century in this plan though it is merely a piece of environment.
Text by Hiroshi Innami 1997/8