Theme Discussion

Taking a different approach this time, our 2nd urban public space design competition is being sponsored by three companies: Airbnb Japan, Culture Convenience Club, and Nikken Sekkei. After asking about each company’s perceptions and endeavors regarding public space, we had Chief Judge Takayuki Kishii and judges Ryue Nishizawa, Seiichi Saito, and Junji Tanigawa give their thoughts about our theme “in-between spaces” and sharing and diversity. [Editors]

　

Redefining the city’s “in-between spaces”

This competition’s three sponsors are exploring at the possibilities of public space from many perspectives. First, what are your thoughts about the possibilities of our theme, this time, in light of our previous competition?

─

Kishii: Last time, we had students ponder the broad theme of “the city and public space.” We received not only proposals for roads and parks but also proposals for architecture itself as public space and even for treating empty spaces around buildings as public space. In response to our asking the basic question, what is public space? we received varying answers.
Our theme this time is “in-between spaces,” but in reality, the rights to all property and spaces in the city are secured, so there are no in-between spaces. In other words, we are asking entrants to think about what “in-between space” means in a city. For example: they might take as their subject a place that, while having legal ownership, is tied up and unused due to legal regulations. They might propose that in-between spaces of open character deliberately be maintained for the sake of urban renewal, rather than blanketing a site with buildings. A submission may arise from thinking that accompanies a plan able to evokes people’s needs.
“Kashiwanoha AQUA TERRACE (see "Shinkenchiku"1705)”, for example, by connecting development to a public flood control reservoir has realized a waterside park. It also brings the neighboring T-SITE commercial facility into integral involvement. When viewed as the farthest edge of your territory, a space lying between commercial and public lands is simply an in-between space, but when viewed as an opportunity for doing something, it will present all kinds of possibilities.

Nishizawa: Modernism values “function” as a means of organizing architecture. By dividing the house functionally into “eating” and “sleeping,” its meaning is made clear. Whether something is “usable or not” is an easily understood measure of the value of things, and in this capacity, it has served us well. In many areas, not only architecture, we can effectively judge value by asking whether something is “usable.” This has good and bad sides, and particularly in terms of urban space, there are many aspects whose value cannot be explained with “usable or not” as a measure. In the old days, cities flourished on the basis of their waterways, and in this respect, rivers were “something usable.” Today in the overland age, however, large rivers are no longer as necessary. Younger people who do not know the old days of waterways look at a river and think, “What is this large water body doing in the heart of the city?” Still, that river is loved, even now, and continues to give charm to the city. In this sense, the river’s value cannot be measured by whether it is usable or not. There are many backstreets, plazas, and buildings that score low when measured by “usability” but which have charm and are loved by people. I think “in-between spaces” also have this aspect. When we think about the beauty and charm of a city existing for many generations, we find a diversity of values, not simply whether something is “useable or not.”

　

Thinking about immaterial “in-between places”

Mr. Saito and Mr. Tanigawa, this is your first participation. What are your thoughts?

─

Saito: I originally studied architecture at Columbia University but, on graduating, moved to the advertising world and did little architecture work. Thereafter, I started up Rhizomatics, and I have since been deeply involved in architecture-related activities, such as employing data in urban revitalization.
The theme this time, I felt, is viable because of the times we live in. In the old days, when I taught at Tokyo University of Science, students in the architecture department could handle design and planning for a specific function—an art museum building, for example, or a station building. But their minds, I recall thinking, were not clear about the software aspects. These days, however, you cannot just design a building. You need to fit the people who want to do an Airbnb into the puzzle along with the ordinary owners, for example, or how to use the “in-between spaces” of our theme this time. Such software aspects have become “architecture” in the broad meaning of the word. In this sense, technologies are enabling various approaches. Our theme, this time, is not just for people in architecture; people in a startup producing apps, for example, can take participate as well.
For me, the most important public space is the Internet. Discussions held in places like Piazza San Marco in olden times are held on the Internet today. Until now, the city’s physical aspect and immaterial aspect were viewed as separate things. With Airbnb sharing rooms on the Net and Uber dispatching cars, we now have activities that seamlessly connect the two. Such trends will ultimately become an engine for urban design, perhaps, and they may also set larger things in motion, like urban redevelopment. Japanese society is divided vertically in composition, so our industries lack horizontal connections. This is another aspect where in-between spaces might be developed. It would be interesting to receive proposals for ways to find such in-between places, as well.

Tanigawa: I began the company JTQ sixteen years ago. After starting with theme park operation, we moved to the design of public spaces. I therefore have long experience in creating places. Currently, I work with a broad range of clients to construct or design setups, mainly the creation of concepts on which to base spatial compositions.
I see space as equivalent to experience. Memory born from experience strongly influences many things. The process starts with evoking people’s expectations, then designing their impressions, and finally establishing memory. This is what leads to repeat visits. Repeaters then form a community, and community engenders a sense of sharing something in common among many people. This can be a physical community or it can be an immaterial community on the Internet. Right now, the two worlds are merging, and countless communities of all kinds are helping shape our cities. The “information society” we call it, and truly, the volume of information flowing through various channels, related to personal everyday living space, grows rampantly. In the sea of information, shortcuts to situations for encountering interesting information have become the most crucial situation, we can say. In this way, public and private grow circulative, and by giving visibility to social mechanisms in designs, we can cast light on in-between spaces that excite everyone’s expectations.

Kishii: Last year, we received many architectural proposals but few proposals concerning process or software aspects. When thinking about architecture, people tend to focus on physical in-between spaces, but there are also blank in-between spaces in areas of meeting social needs. It may be good if applicants gave thought to the in-betweens among people’s activities.

Tanigawa: In traditional Japanese spaces, the boundary between public and private is unclear. Also, the shoji and fusuma that partition spaces are made of paper and can easily be broken with a finger, but not breaking them is a rule, right? We may retain, even now, a sense like this of how lifestyle is formed by boundaries defined in our conscious. In-between spaces also may be not so much physical spaces as structural gaps occurring in everyone’s awareness.

　

The diverse possibilities of public spaces

Nishizawa: Listening to everyone’s remarks, one realizes that “in-between space” has many connotations besides just physical space. These days, when getting accommodations, people do not simply stay at a hotel; they may choose to use a service like Airbnb, for example, and enjoy an experience that can only be had in a farm village. As concerns residential living, as well, 30 or more years ago the wood-frame, two-story, 5LDK house with two-car-parking was a common perception, but now, people buy old homes and fix them up themselves or intentionally live in a business district. We live in a time when people are exploring the potential in diverse styles of living and everybody can share the good of doing so. Things we view unconsciously from our own perspective become meaningful when seen from a different angle. A wide spectrum of ways of thinking is filtering in, so that a new “diversification of values” is taking root.

Saito: Recently, I have many chances to work with developers. At such times, I make a point of saying we should not pigeonhole people in regional communities as “residents.” Studies show that regional residents include people of many backgrounds. With today’s technology, we can break demographics down and view in detail what we previously treated only as a mass. Doing so, the individual values held by people come into appearance. Personal values differ even among young people, and I refer to groups sharing similar values as “tribes.” When we look at their likes and dislikes and what fits or does not fit their lifestyle, we find there are as many different values as there are tribes. One tribe may only be three people, but now, we can properly value those three people.

Tanigawa: In the 21st century, a change in how we are connected to information has produced this diversification, I feel. We can now freely investigate as we like, and individuals are steadily increasing their information literacy. Amid all this, when we think about life design, it may also occur that people try borrowing a little something from someone, and by giving it play in an unexpected in-between space, they create something new. Then, this is also a time when we can freely share the things we think are good. It is important, when looking at society, to visually embody one’s picture of the future and to actively make proposals.
This happened a while ago, but I was very surprised when the New York High Line was created. An unapproachable elevated railway line became a park, and this is awakening new vitality in surrounding districts. Moreover, this has come about through donations. Donations have particularly come from people owning land in the areas near the project site. If a region revitalizes with development, then as a result, the value of one’s own property goes up in a win-win situation. Today, when we are exposed to great amounts of information, what is needed is the ability to effectively compose mechanisms to cover many situations.

New York High Line (see "a+u" 1312)

Kishii: “Search” is a functional element for sharing. These days, anyone can freely use the search mechanism, but to a degree, the search provider can manipulate the search. If people lose trust in this, they may suddenly go back to face-to-face relationships.

Tanigawa: The Internet appeared in the 1980s. In 1994, Yahoo initiated the concept of categorized websites, and with this, a format for communicating information was achieved. In 1998, Google was born and provided a search function, so next, the Internet became a functional tool anyone could use to search for information. Facebook, created in 2004, connected people with people and created a format bundling even more information. As for what might become possible next, the hashtag search function brings another level of possibilities into view. Right now, it is used only in the Internet world, but by giving us command over AI and advanced technologies, it will eventually appear in the environment of the physical city. When this happens, city space will become even more interesting.

Nishizawa: Today, people are integrating libraries with art museums and sharing residences; all kinds of endeavors are underway in the world. We are taking existing facilities as a chopping block in creating new facilities and new utilities, I have a feeling. From amid this diverse trial and error experimentation, an image of a new age will perhaps appear.

Kishii: This time, having assembled cosponsors and judges from different fields, we can expect to get appraisals from many different perspectives. We hope to receive proposals from people in many fields, as well, not just experts in architecture and urban planning. It would be interesting if different fields collaborated and came up with innovations. We would like entrants to begin by thinking about what in-between spaces are and then expand their thinking from there.

［June 6, 2017 at NIKKEN ACTIVITY DESIGN lab. The editorial staff takes full responsibility for article content.]］

---

Airbnb

Under the concept “Belong Anywhere,” Airbnb seeks to enable all travelers to “belong” wherever they go and create an environment for traveling that is like residing. In Japan, the term “guest house” tends to suggest an inexpensive alternative to standard accommodations, but we want to provide a means for experiencing a city from new perspectives and come to deeply know the local community. By providing right of access to private spaces, a portion of that private space is made public, and new possibilities for city planning, transcending the conventional hedge between public and private, come into view. As an example of how we provide a new value experience by giving play to the existing city, our in-house “Samara” design studio collaborated with Go Hasegawa in creating a community house (Yoshino Cedar House) in Yoshino, Nara prefecture. The first floor performs as a place for exchange between guests and locals, while the second floor is space for lodging. By connecting the regional community with Airbnb’s global community in this kind of format, we are creating a new mechanism in Japanese society. Then, with the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, the efficient use of empty rooms is viewed as an important strategy. Taking hints from the design competition theme, “in-between spaces,” we hope to look anew at Japan’s style of lodgings rooted in region. 

［Hidetomo Nagata / Airbnb Japan］

Above: Yoshino Cedar House (see "Shinkenchiku"1705). A community house built by the town of Yoshino, Nara in collaboration with Airbnb and architect Go Hasegawa.
Below: Besides lodgings, we also offer “experiences” at the destination.
Photo provision: Airbnb

Culture Convenience Club (CCC)

CCC is engaged in many endeavors such as TSUTAYA, T Card, TSUTAYA BOOKS, and libraries. Takeo City Library, for example (see "Shinkenchiku"1307) involved the renovation of an existing library and installing a café and commercial functions. The number of visitors to Takeo City Library has greatly increased in the four years since the renovation, and the library is also contributing to revitalization of the surrounding region. Still, many tourists visit on one-day trips from Fukuoka, so the need for lodgings has arisen. As a solution, we are looking at home sharing. Seeking to contribute to the region, in this way, we have entered a partnership contract with Airbnb in April 2015. Another endeavor is our engagement in data-base marketing. Our “T Card,” after starting out as a membership rental card, is now a common point card used by 63 million people with 170 participating companies. T Card enables a wide range of data analysis based on how much customers purchase, where. Rendering people’s shopping trends and lifestyle preferences as data, we are deploying CCC’s means of approach to deliver interesting information on services and goods to customers. As concerns data applications, we are hopeful the design competition this time will reveal some ideas for connecting people with people.

［Shiro Yamasaki / Culture Convenience Club］

Above: Takeo City Library
Below: GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS in GINZA SIX (see "Shinkenchiku"1706), which opened in April 2017.

Nikken Sekkei

Nikken Sekkei is putting effort into creating relaxing spaces and improving the value of the environs by uncovering the potential posed by public spaces in modern-era cities. In Kashiwanoha AQUA TERRACE, the project owner Mitsui Fudosan and Kashiwa City, Kashiwa-no-ha Urban Design Center (UCDK) and others have redeveloped a public flood control reservoir, something people formerly could not visit, as a waterside park. It is a case of the public and private sectors and academia all joining together. With the development of CCC’s Kashiwa-no-ha T-SITE on adjacent land, the overall site is attracting popularity under the name Aqua Terrace. Then, last year, we established café tables and counters among the pilotis of the Nikken Sekkei Tokyo Building to create a place inviting to people who formerly simply passed by. By opening the closed space of a business district to the regional community, a new connectiveness has been born with residents and companies of the surrounding area.
By cosponsoring this competition with Airbnb and CCC this year, we are hoping to see dynamic new proposals, not just for the design or physical character of public spaces but going one step farther in discovering new usages and value.

［Atsushi Omatsu / Nikken Sekkei］

Above: Kashiwanoha AQUA TERRACE. A formerly unapproachable public flood control reservoir has been redeveloped as a waterside park.
Below: Nikken Sekkei Tokyo Building. Scene of a café space opened to the surrounding district.
Photo provision: Nikken Sekkei