DESIGNWORKS Vol.02

9/26

exclusively profit or loss, is given top priority. It's time to rethink that. There's also a French saying that goes something like, "When people come to live in a place, it becomes a place of flowers." In Osaka, it would be " When people come to live in a place, it becomes a place of water." It is said that only when people are living in a place does the culture of the community come alive. In any case, population and its configuration are a measure that could be called the starting point for urban residence. In 1929, Tetsuro Watsuji discussed cities in his famous work "Fudo" (Climate and Culture), and he described the type of cities being developed in West Germany. There, designers were moving away from flat urban sprawl and promoting the creation of high-density compact cities. When you look at population density in terms of inhabitable area, Japan is four times as dense as the Netherlands, which is the country with the highest population density in Europe. For this reason, we must consider unique methods for Japan unlike those in any other country. National reconstruction in Japan during the postwar period for the land that had been devastated in the war began with the construction of 200,000 emergency housing units measuring approximately 4.5 square meters each. However, in England, whose capital London had sustained a similar degree of damage, reconstruction began with the building of full-fledged residences measuring about 9 square meters each. Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, turned down the suggestion to construct emergency housing. Saying, "First we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us," he adopted a proposal to build spacious full-fledged residences. Food for thought, isn't it? After its defeat in the war, Japan's policy was undoubtedly unavoidable. But even though the economy has recovered, the spaciousness of residences still leaves something to be desired. Nowadays the fabric of society is said to be coming apart, and I think our residences are one of the causes. We can debate about what kind of community we want to form, but here as well the origin of the problem lies in the family and the home. In homes nowadays, a family member might come home but you'd never know it. That cannot be called a home. We need floor plans to create homes that will create a happy family life, in which people greet each other naturally. One example would be a floor plan in which you pass the living room to go to your own room, so family members can spend time with one another before going off to their own rooms. As an aside, at the Housing Corporation's Harumi High-rise Apartment Building (designed by Kunio Maekawa, 1958), there is a transom window at the top of the room partition walls. You can hear voices behind the closed sliding door, and even though you can't see the other person, the transom window allows you to sense their presence. Such a residence teaches you not to raise your voice and to be considerate for other members of the family. Society's needs with respect to residences change with the times. But those of us who are engaged in residential design need to be aware that the residence creates the family. Also, of the three "Ps" for creating good residences – Plan, Place and Price – particularly those of us who are active designers need to place special emphasis on "Plan, " both in the sense of the floor plan and planning in general.The Possibilities of Urban ResidencesInterviewer: Incidentally, I understand that the "hollowing-out" of urban areas has recently become a problem.Yamanaka: That's right. As cities sprawl out and extend their outer reaches, problems occur, such as a "hollowing out" of the population, strains in the population configuration, the breakup of communities and so on. This leads to a loss of vitality for the city. In the vibrant Wall Street district of downtown New York, 400,000 people work in an area of 100 hectares, and 20,000 people reside there. Compare that to the Kita Senba district in the center of Osaka. In the same 100-hectare area, 150,000 people work but only 2,000 people live in the area, and 60% of those households are single people living alone. In the Marunouchi district of Tokyo, with the same 100-hectare area, 240,000 people work in the district and no one lives there! We need to devise measures as soon as possible to restore vibrancy to our cities. Again, this is not simply a matter of increasing numbers. We need new policies that consider family composition and other qualitative changes as well.Interviewer: You've been observing Japanese residences literally all the way through from the postwar reconstruction period to the present. What do you think Japanese residences will be like in the future?Yamanaka: Housing construction in the postwar era began with the construction of 13 million residences in 1945. After 60 years, housing stocks presently amount to 55 million residences. Housing construction took place at a high rate of speed, more than 1 million per year for a total of 65 million. However, during this period 23 million residences were lost. Even though the emphasis now is said to be on preserving stocks, we still haven't been able to do that. Housing construction has also been conducted with limited construction materials and funds, and the resulting residences do not last long. And the level of satisfaction is still low: only 55% as compared to 70% in the Europe and North America. In order to improve this situation, from now on residences must have ample space, and they must be built to last. "Still new after a decade, still unchanged after a decade." This could also be said from an environmental perspective, but the residences of the future must offer a long service life and must have a spacious living environment, and they should not need to be rebuilt. How to achieve this is the question.Interviewer: Finally, could you give a word of advice to those of us who are designers striving to create better residences?Yamanaka: I think the basic requirements for a residence are that it must be bright, well-ventilated, surrounded by greenery, and spacious. About 30 years ago, this concept took its first steps with the ASTM project, and it came to be a leading concept for the age. Subsequently there were changes in the fabric of society, but if I were asked to say whether residences are now in keeping with this concept, I'd have to say we're not quite there yet. I've worked in the Senba*2 district of Osaka for half a century, and I've thought I had to do what I can. So I set up an NPO with volunteer help and have spent five years studying the problem. And I've concluded that the key to Senba's vitality is to make it a place where people can live in their most productive years.Interviewer: This is the key to revitalizing Senba – what you might call a "Senba Renaissance." Yamanaka: Yes, the "Senba Renaissance." We've got to persevere just a little bit longer. I'm now hoping for the realization of a new proposal that could be called ASTM-II. And I'd like everyone to do their part to help. This is beyond doubt exactly what society hopes housing construction can be. We all have more than enough capabilities to make this a reality. Call it noblesse oblige*3 – those who have the capability to do things have the obligation to do things. Let's approach it with a positive attitude, a free and easy manner, and a determination to hang in there until we get the job done.Interviewer: Thank you very much.(Interviewers: Kazunori Sekiya, Shin Yokobori, Takashi Yokota,Tomoko Okada, Yuko Taguchi)*1 ASTM:Abbreviation for the consortium that built the Ashiya Beach High-rise Apartments. The "A" stands for Ashiya, and the other letters represent the five companies involved in the project: Nippon Steel Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd., Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd. and MID Urban Development Co., Ltd.*2 The district around Honmachi, Chuo-ku in central Osaka. The Senba district measures 2 km (north-south) by 1 km (east-west) and was originally bounded by canals on all four sides. It was once the center of Osaka, where textile wholesalers, trading companies, securities firms and banks were concentrated.*3 noblesse oblige: A French term; literally, "the obligation of the nobility."Toru Yamanaka1925Born in Kyoto1948Graduated Kyoto University College of Engineering, Architecture DepartmentJoined Senji Kobayashi Architectural Office1953Joined Takenaka Corporation1968General Manager, Building Design Department1972General Manager, Residential Facilities Marketing Department1981Architectural Institute of Japan Award (Achievement)Planning and Implementation, Ashiya Beach High-rise Apartments Project1984Managing Director, Member of the Board1991Senior Managing Director, Member of the Board1996Member, Chikuju-kai (Teitei-tei)CurrentlyDirector, Association to Consider Residences of the FutureMajor works1962Mukogawa Junior High School, Senior High School and University1963Hankyu Umeda Station, Hankyu Sanbangai1969Osaka Merchandise MartOsaka Kokusai Building1978Ashiya Beach High-rise Apartments Project (ASTM)Interview

※このページを正しく表示するにはFlashPlayer9以上が必要です