丹下健三 东京湾1960

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Image:

Model of Tokyo Bay Plan 1960 done by Kenzo Tange and his assistants in his studio.

Tokyo Bay Plan 1960

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Designer(s): Urban Planning

Year of completion: 1960

Area: Nil Planning in Metabloism - Tokyo Bay Plan 1960

3 URBD 5703 Urban History & Theory – Fall 2013

Planning in Metabolism –Tange’s Tokyo Bay Plan 1960

Chan Chi Meng

An urban planning project broadcast on TV

Disclosed on Japan’s national television network NHK as a one-hour special TV program for the new year of 1961, Kenzo Tange’s ‘Plan for Tokyo 1960’ was firstly published to the public. Unlike usual planning project that may firstly publish in architectural periodical, Tange released his Tokyo Bay Plan on public media in the first place. This plan soon got aware from the public. Tange’s intention to draw public’s attention showed his eagerness to realize his plan, however the plan remains in ideal fantasy. But Tange’s Tokyo Bay Plan 1960 shows his urban planning theory of metabolism with a stand on objects of “mobility, openness and adaptability to change and growth ” affected the coming architecture and planning.

Postwar and postindustrial ear of Japan

Before talking about the planning design, here I firstly bring out the social background of that period of Japan.

After the World War II, many part of Tokyo city was destroyed by air booming. This gave a chance to rebuild and replan the city for ground zero. In 1950, advantaged form the Korean War, Japan’s economic started to recover. Tokyo city expanded in a high speed simultaneously with a rapid growth in population. The city needed more space and shelter for citizen. A good planning design was called for urgent.

During that period, as 40% of Tokyo had been destroyed by air raids, there were a large number of urban land that is affordable for city reconstruction. Originally, it would be a great chance for a holistic planning for the entire Tokyo city. But the fact is these empty lands were soon occupied by illegal construction which became shelter for returned resident. As a result, the cityscap of Tokyo fell into a chaotic situation. More over, lands of those illegal construction belonged to different individual. It may take several years and expensive to demolish and replace them. This made the replanning Tokyo in a coherent manner more difficult. As the city reconstruct, population got a rapid growth in the post war era. The reason of rapid growth in population not only due to the high reproduction rate but also a result of soldiers and evacuee back from the war, Japanese move out form lost colonies and job seeker form other despoiled city in Japan. The massive population of Tokyo increased the need of housing together with certain supporting traffic infrastructure. The enormous growth of individual automobile brought by new population required sufficient infrastructure. At the same time, centralized industries in the capital created a concentrated urban core which gave pressure to the transportation system in Tokyo.

In the mean while, under high cost involved, complex ownership of land and urgency of rebuilding shelters, the metropolitan government issued plans for reconstructing Tokyo. One of these rehabitation plan can be reference is the Nation Capital Region Development Plan in 1958. In this plan, we can see the metropolitan government had reference British Garden City movement established by Sir Ebenezer Howard. The existing urban area is surrounded by green belt and satellite cities located outside the green belt with expressway connected with each other and to the existing urban area. However, the expansion of the city and population was underestimated. Soon the reserved green belt area was started to develop and the expansion of Tokyo was unstoppable.

4Image: Top Left

Tokyo Metropolitan Government, National Capital Region Develop-ment Plan 1958,which have a clear reference to British Garden City movement

Image: Top Right

Tokyo Bay Plan suggested by

Hisaki Kano in 1959, whihc suggest an artificial island among Tokyo Bay Image: Middle

Masato Otaka proposed a horse-shoe-shaped linear planning on Tokyo Bay which greatly influenced Tange later

Image: Bottom

Tagne’s concept of having a linear extension for Tokyo form evolution and growth of living organism

“The post war planning of Tokyo had split the ideal and real apart. Planner, architect, industrialist started to explore urban planning in a different way. No doubted that Tokyo bay is a great virgin land to excavate. ”

Planning in Metabloism - Tokyo Bay Plan 1960

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URBD 5703 Urban History & Theory – Fall 2013Chan Chi Meng The Tokyo bay

The post war planning of Tokyo had split the ideal and real apart. Planner, architect, industrialist started to explore urban planning in a different way. No doubted that Tokyo bay is a great virgin land to excavate.

One reason of exploring the Tokyo bay was due to the coastal situation of it. Japan is a country that lack of natural resource. During the urbanization and industrialization of Japan, large amount of raw material was shipped to Tokyo. Ports and factories were built along the Tokyo bay. For the postindustrial era Japan, industry became less important in Tokyo. Economic pattern changed in Tokyo and heavy industry started to shift to other areas. The Tokyo bay industrial area may need to reform

and the water resource discussed to be well use. More over, there would be no trouble in land retreatment cause by complex land ownership.Discussion of Tokyo bay development started form semi-public organization. In seminars held by Japan Housing Corporation, which Tagne had involved in, Hisaki Kano proposed a plan of Tokyo bay with artificial island in Tokyo bay. This plan consisted with an artificial island and other reclamation land along Tokyo

bay with two loops of expressway to connect existing Tokyo urban area, the Tokyo bay reclamation and Kisarazu. In the same occasion, Masato Otaka had publish his Tokyo Marine City as a Metabolism urban planning project, which suggested a horseshoe shape linear city in the Tokyo bay. The discussion of using Tokyo bay in these seminars had influenced Tange in his Tokyo bay plan 1960 and that Tange had claimed, ”Tokyo is expanding but there is no more land, and we shall have to expand into the sea.”

Tange’s Plan for Tokyo 1960

With the inspiration form Kano and Metabolist’s Tokyo bay planning, Tange came up with his own integrated Tokyo Bay Plan in 1960.

The Concept

In Tange’s research, one reason of the chaotic urban situation of Tokyo is due to the centralized planning design which he said, “grown too old to cope with the current rate of expansion,” This also happened in other “pivotal cities” in the world. Tange started thinking of planning the city in other way. He looked into the growth of organism. Tange took the evolution and growth of living organism as his concept:

The amoeba and the asteroid have radial centripetal forms but vertebrates have linear bone structures with parallel radiations. When the living functions of organisms differentiate and perform

the composite function of life, the centripetal pattern evolves

into a system of parallel lines grouped around an axis formed of a spine and arteries. The process whereby a vertebrate body hatches from an egg illustrates the possibility of gradual development on the part of a linear system.From this point of view, Tange started to design the Tokyo Bay Plan into a linear city which with the influence of Metabolist and even Soviet Union’s linear city planning. This linear planning is called ‘civic spine’ by Tange. In this civic spine over water would be the new civic center and gigantic mega structure of habitation will rise up with cores and some habitation structure

will expand at right angles to the spine over water.Image:

Model illustration of Tange’s Tokyo Bay

Plan 1960 showing the detail of the civic spine and the suspension bridge

6The Traffic

As mentioned before, Tange questioned and argued the existing transportation system of Tokyo. Same as Le Corbusier, Tange saw the importance of automobile and its relationship with architecture and city. He wrote:

In the past, people walked along streets until they came to their destination… With automobiles on the street, however, everything is different. In the first place, it is necessary to divide pedestrians from vehicles, to create highways and streets that are for the exclusive use of vehicles. Thanks to the coming of the automobile, there is need for a new order in which a vehicle can move from a fast highway to a slower one and then come to a stop at the destination.

This change in urban structure transformed the infrastructure of city and leads to Tange’s interlocking loops of transportation system in his Tokyo Bay Plan 1960: high way is supported by large-spanned suspension structures above water. A double-loop system of cyclical circulation was integrated into the “civic spine”. The outer loops will carry high-speed traffic while the inner loops serve the local transportation and access to buildings and communities. Inner loops would span for 1km and 3 inner loops would connect together which serve by an outer loop. Inner and outer loops would be linked together by ramps. Vehicles would only move in one direction either clockwise or anti-clockwise. No cars would travel straight-ahead. This kind of vehicular circulation will form an inconvenience zigzag traffic pattern. But on the other hand, no intersection on the high way may increase the efficiency of the transportation system.

The Building

In order to cope with the automobile life and transportation system in Tokyo Bay Plan 1960, Tange developed a “pilotis and core” system for the building in the civic spine. This system firstly introduced by Le Cobusier’s Radiant City in which pedestrian and vehicles separated into two system and building will leaved up to free up the ground with green space for pedestrians. Influenced by Le Cobusier and integrate this pilotis with a core which is a vertical shafts containing stairways, elevators and other services. Cores will be placed in a 200 m grid. Different form the usual 2 dimension planning, this “pilotis and core” system introduced a 3 dimensional zoning and higher degree of mobility and social interaction could be developed.Tange also considered the rapid and unpredictable changes of population in contemporary city. Tange proposed a mega structure for residential purpose. The A-shaped dwelling structure was introduced. This concrete mega structure provided an artificial ground for resident to design and build their own house on it above the Tokyo Bay which rendered a poetic living style above water. This A-shaped mega structure can extend further from the civic spine out at right angles as the same time

able to adopt the growth of population in Tokyo.

Image: Left

Tokyo Bay Plan Model with interlocking

loops of transporation system

Image: Right

Section and Plan of the ‘pilotis and core‘ system proposed by Tange

“In the past, people walked along streets until they came to their destination… With automobiles on the street, however, everything is different. In the first place, it is necessary to divide pedestrians from vehicles, to create highways and streets that are for the

exclusive use of vehicles. Thanks to the coming of the automobile, there is need for a new order in which a vehicle can move from a fast highway to a slower one and then come to a stop at the destination. ”

Planning in Metabloism - Tokyo Bay Plan 1960

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URBD 5703 Urban History & Theory – Fall 2013Conclusion - The Polarized Ideal and Real

At the period of reconstructing the city, Tokyo suffered form its growth in population and incoherent planning. City center were lack of land and old transportation system made the city unable to catch up with the acceleration brought by automobile. Tange saw the situation and produced this Tokyo Bay Plan 1960. With the objective of “mobility, openness and adaptability to change and growth ”, Tange proposed his urban planning with “civic spine”, interlocking loop transportation system, the “pilotis and core” system building, and the A-shaped habitation mega structure to achieve his intension. There were also critics about the plan such as inefficient of the zigzag circulation, the undemonstrated way to build his/her own house on a provided man-made structure, etc. The plan finally stay in the ideal world rather become realistic. But still, the Tokyo Bay Plan 1960 of Tange have great influence to the latecomers especial to Metabolist.

Reference:

Lin, Zhongjie,1973. Kenzo Tange and Metabolis movement: urban utopias of modern Japan. Routledge , New York.

Lin, Zhongjie, 2007. Urban Structure for the expanding metropolis:

Kenzo Tange’s 1960 plan for Tokyo. Jornal of Architectural and Planning Resarch (summer, 2007), 109-124.

Ma, Guoxin, 1942. Danxia Jiansan . Zhongguo jian zhu gong ye chu ban

she, Beijing.

Image: Left

Section and Plan of A-shape mega

structure for residential use Image: Right

Tokyo Bay Plan 1960 model showing

the A-shape mega structure