City Scales Tokyo_Tsukuba Exhibition: Architecture that Links City, Suburbs and Ecosystems

In Tokyo, where a unique path of modernisation has been explored for more than a century and a half, a distinctive artificial environment and culture have flourished. Exemplified by the urban landscape of Shibuya—where elevated railways run punctually between clusters of buildings wrapped in flashing lights and graphic displays, while large numbers of people move in an orderly manner at street level—this environment has attracted global attention as Ultra-Modern. Architectural exploration has also contributed to the realization of this ultra-modern world, and this direction appears to be further accelerated by digital technology.
On the other hand, cities are sustained by food, products, water, electricity, people, and many other resources supplied by surrounding regions and nature. Tokyo, its surrounding region, and the natural environment exist as an interconnected system, yet these relationships have gradually been forgotten. Furthermore, modernization has
extended beyond the material realm into the immaterial, accompanying the isolation and disciplining of the people who live there. At present, different architectural practices are simultaneously re-examining this complex condition reached by Tokyo, the Tokyo metropolitan region, and the architecture that has shaped them, seeking to understand both its possibilities and its challenges while envisioning the future from their respective perspectives.

During this workshop, participants studied pioneering architectural works that seek to recreate connections between people and nature and between people themselves. They also studied masterpieces of modern architecture to study their historical development.

Furthermore, focusing on architecture that connects nature, the suburbs, and the city, the studio explored an alternative lineage of construction techniques that differs from modernization by directly obtaining materials from nature to create built forms. Participants learnt bamboo craftsmanship in the historic town of Hōjō, Tsukuba City, where the University of Tsukuba is located, constructed a full-scale temporary structure, and exhibited it in Kamata, Tokyo and at Hōjō, Tsukuba.

The exhibition in Hōjō formed part of the Hōjō Gion Festival. Within this context, the pavilions contributed to community integration through the artistic and architectural interventions developed by the students.

Reference – City Scales Tokyo_Tsukuba booklet