The energy a city holds is an unceasing continuation of activities, circulation and events, and although constantly changing, the goal can never be found. It is as if practicing the philosophy of “nothingness” from Japanese Zen. It does not expect or anticipate a fixed form represented by outlines of the buildings from the Medieval Ages. Ideologies of growth, development, rhythm and creation are included in recognizing the
in-process personality of a city. In other words, it has a dynamic ability to deal with any possible change. Hidden systems and order which control the space and forms of a city are certain to have emerged with some desire. Close investigation of those systems means looking into a vague concept of instincts peculiar to humans. This plan is an attempt to search for a method to create a new city which floats on Tokyo Bay by a new system of order named Media Column.
Twelve articles advocating the “Media Column”
・Media Column gives order to a city
・Media Column creates the appearance of a city
・Media Column symbolizes the strength of a city
・Media Column stimulates the sense of a city
・Media Column mocks the authority of a city
・Media Column is a magnetic field for a city
・Media Column is an accumulated mass of wisdom of a city
・Media Column supports change in a city.
・Media Column increases excitement in a city
・Media Column is a fragment of a city
・Media Column is a melting pot of desires of a city
・Media Column gives an ego to a city
Text by Hiroshi Innami 1997/8