Sota Matsuura, Kei Ayashiro, Atsushi Oto, Simone Cartier, Raphaela Hurschler
The theme of Group 4 was "atmosphere". We discussed what sort of atmosphere Yokohama now possessed and how atmosphere ought to be designed.
In research preceding the intermediate presentation, we first postulated that atmosphere is the product of six factors such as landmarks, the textures of buildings and pavements, and planting. We discovered as a result a close relationship between atmosphere and as-yet unused land (what we called "waiting land").
For example, places such as parking lots that have little atmosphere have high potential and demand a new atmosphere. We deduced the existence of such bits of "waiting land".
In the second half of the project, our target area was the inner harbor surrounded by three districts--the Minato Mirai 21 district, Shinko Pier and Kannai. Various bits of land that are idle or being put for now to provisional uses such as warehouses, amusement parks and parking lots exist in this area. How is a waterfront in which many bits of "waiting land" exist to be planned?
The method that was considered was to make buildings on opposite shores of the inner harbor of uniform volume. Determining the volumes of buildings would automatically lead to those buildings being put to certain uses. A city plan usually establishes height limit and zoning by blocks, but the present proposal determines volume by the building height on opposite shores and the size of the canal. We believed that this would help form an atmosphere unique to the inner harbor.
Undertaking group research and planning on a theme as ambiguous as the word "atmosphere" was by no means easy. We discussed how each one of us felt about it a number of times and gradually came to a shared understanding of the subject. This process was extremely difficult because we collaborated with overseas students who spoke different languages, but it was also a precious experience for us.
