Ken Aoki, Kenta Takano, Raphael Bollhalder, Rosanna Borsotti
At present, Yokohama cannot be said to be making the most of its potential as a city with a waterfront in its central district. While transportation infrastructure such as roads and railways is being developed to ring the waterfront forming the large inner harbor, means of access connecting the inland areas and the waterfront are insufficiently developed. One does not feel the presence of the sea, even in places that are only a few hundred meters inland.
Residential areas are concentrated in the inland parts of the city, and business and commercial areas are concentrated in the central district close to the waterfront. However, in neither case is advantage taken of proximity to the waterfront.
Our aim is to improve access to the sea and develop an exciting program that attracts people to the waterfront.
First, to ease access to the sea, we widen roads and develop pedestrian spaces along lines that connect the main railway stations presently scattered in inland areas to the waterfront, thereby providing direct connection to the waterfront. This will open up vistas and make views of the sea available in inland areas.
Next, we reorganize the waterfront, using a unit system. Each of the waterfront districts that together make up the entire inner harbor is one unit. Each unit has its own character, as a result of its configuration and environment. To revitalize each unit, hardware (i.e. buildings) such as cultural facilities and residential facilities and new programs are introduced.
The units are diverse in character and come in different sizes. A number of sites are partly reorganized. Together, they will compose the inner harbor as a whole. Thus, Yokohama's waterfront will be activated.
