If I had one word to describe Japanese housing, it would be `dense`, not even in height as the floor levels are restricted due to the frequent earthquakes, but there is housing everywhere, squeezed into the tiniest lots, next to each other with no space in between.
Apparently they have land use regulations and development control plans that outline things like building height, usage, built form. But I could not make out any pattern, high risers are built next to one storey houses, massive housing developments close to temples, industrial operations 10m apart from hotels. Also the design of most houses is appalling to say the least. They remind me of a mix between socialist GDR style and cheap Australian prefabricated housing.
Apparently they have land use regulations and development control plans that outline things like building height, usage, built form. But I could not make out any pattern, high risers are built next to one storey houses, massive housing developments close to temples, industrial operations 10m apart from hotels. Also the design of most houses is appalling to say the least. They remind me of a mix between socialist GDR style and cheap Australian prefabricated housing.
Yet, in between all this chaos there are jewels of modern architecture: my absolute favourites was the Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku designed by Tange Associates.
Another great building is the Tokyo International Forum by Rafael Vinoly. As one website describes it "a gracefully expressive great curving ship shape in glass and steel, set off across its plaza with blocky recalls the scale of other European supporting halls".
Also I now have a new favourite architect: Tadao Ando. We went to an art island, Naoshima, a once tiny fisher village where a publisher decided to build a world museum by a world class architect (Tadao Ando). They even had some of Yoyoi Kusama's art, one piece was a nice big yellow pumpkin sitting on a pier.
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