
Blending Boundaries
Ochanomizu River Revitalization
“Water City” Tokyo was once a city with thousands of rivers. However, the city has been “betraying” its rivers by constructing meters-high concrete walls between rivers and cities or reclaiming land to build skyscrapers. The project is meant to revitalize the riverfront area that is abandoned from use in Ochanomizu, which features the very first human-made river in Japan.
The site has an extreme topography from water level ±0 to ground level +20 meters, with a width of around 20 meters, which segregates urban, vegetation, and the river. I want to design a riverfront park that has a hydrophilic sidewalk alongside the Kanda River with pedestrians crossing the planted area to eliminate the barrier between urban and nature in the city. The hydrophilic sidewalk contains spaces for a boat terminal and public activities for citizens to gather around. Besides, the revitalization of the use of canons and boats would bring back the energetic atmosphere around the riverfront that Tokyo has lost for a long time.
The pedestrian routes will be supported by a structure that evokes the image of the branch. It is inspired by the vegetation of the site so the pedestrian can blend into the surroundings. Also, the ceiling of the main public space of the hydrophilic sidewalk is inspired by trees. The structure will “grow” underwater, so although the deck part is an extension of the site, it will look like it belongs to the vegetation area.
YEAR
2020
GENRE
Urban Landscape, Architecture, Interior
EXHIBITION
SEBIT Art and Design Exhibition 2020 @ Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan)
Landscape Visuals






SKETCH







Visuals










Research


DIAGRAMS



Drawings























