Fukuoka + Hiroshima Japan

It didn't take very long to notice a several things about Japan that distinguish it from the rest of Asia. The metro system in Fukuoka, for example, had cushioned upholstery seats. This may not sound like a big deal, but I could tell that these seat weren't new, nor was the rail car itself. Yet everything was incredible condition. I am not sure how many cultures in the world would be able to keep a piece of public property in such good shape.

I was greeted by Japan with some rain, but the next morning work up to some nice weather. Because of Japan's linear geography I am choosing to travel from West to East, starting with the port town of Fukuoka. The city has a nice scale, Topping out with 5-6 maybe 8 story buildings, small streets, with enough room for a good mix of bikes, pedestrian's and autos.

The ACROS building is adjoining ( and in many ways complimenting ) the central green space of the City. The southern elevation of the building, that faces the green space, is terraced with over grown vegetation giving the effect that the park continues up the building, or that the building itself is actually a small mountain. This elevation if also walkable, so it also a continuation of public space as well.

The Large central atrium is flooded with natural light and ventilation. I think this project will continue to be a good case study of an architecture merging with landscape urbanism.

I then travelled to Hiroshima. A place that "for the worst of reasons, needs no introduction." The memorial, also know as the "Atomic Dome" is the only structure that is standing in the city since the blast 65 years ago.

Though the loss of life was tragic, yet what I was thinking about most during my visit, is how this single act of destruction changed the world forever. Before the nuclear bomb, people lived differently. Business operated differently. The power of such a weapon has greatly shaped with world we live in today.
 

Shanghai, World EXPO

My Return to Shanghai came with much better weather. A visit to the Bund water front and Nangjing Road on a Busy (understatement) Saturday night is a quick way to get reacquainted with its 16 million inhabitants.

One thing I missed the first time around was "Old Shanghai" which is a district of city blocks , small pedestrian streets and Ming dynasty traditional Chinese architecture. Or At least it appears to be. I later found that the District was built in the 1980's, raising some interesting questions. Because if it was in fact re-created to have that Traditional Chinese look, we are talking about something in authentic. But, the project is incredibly successful in that Chinese people absolutely love the place. I am torn on the subject, on one hand I think it is Hokey, on the other, tourist and locals a like enjoy it.

The 2010 Wold Expo is in Shanghai this summer, and as I may have said earlier , it is seemingly at the center of the world. Some may think it is not a big deal, But I must remind you of significance of the World Expositions. The London Expo in 1851, Chicago 1893, and My Personal favorite 1915 San Diego which gave birth to modern day balboa Park, a jewel in the city.

The World Expo is a ground for cultural exchange, it is education and inspirational. And now, more then Ever, China and specifically Shanghai is showcasing its excellence. More over, shanghai has invited countries from around the world to donate their creativity, technology and innovation to share with the world.

The theme of the 2010 Expo is "Better City, Better life " , concentrating on the improvements of urban environments to help foster more sustainable growth in the 21st century. I found great interest in the less popular pavilions hosted by specific cities or projects that showcase built projects on the topic in the "Best Urban Practices zone," however one cannot ignore the great buzz and excitement surrounding the country pavilions. Many have waiting lines of 3-4 hours to get into the Pavilions. There is an average of 200,000- 300,000 guest every day at the Expo. 85% of them being Chinese. Maybe you can imagine the lines.

UK Pavillion

I was fortunate enough to be traveling with my grandmother at this point, and we found that if you are above a certain age ( I will not tell how old ; ) then you can bypass the long lines. Even with this "golden goose" it is impossible to see everything at the expo... it would take weeks. So I chose carefully.

Being from the USA, i had to see the USA pavilion ( normal wait time 2-3 hours) and I cannot say how generally disappointing this experience was. I have full intent of writing another article ( not for this blog) about this topic, and when i do I will make sure to share. I don't know where to begin my rant so I wont start. It just epitomizes everything Americans don't like about America.

uugghhh...

What's frustrating, is that Americans could produce the most amazing pavilion, we have great designers, but it was clearly handled by the wrong people.

Sweden Pavillion

EVERY other country, on the other hand, has so much culture and excitement injected into their pavilion. So many good examples of interactive media. It is so exciting and inspiring to see architecture being blended so well with these different forms of media. The whole experience just gets my mind running.

DenmarkGermany

Xian, Chongqing, and The Three Gorges

I have left the Capital to venture to the interior of China. About 15 years ago the Central Chinese government initiated a " Develop the West" campaign (of coarse referring to western china, which has primarily been rural communities.)

One of These Western Towns is Xi'an, which was an ancient capital of China from roughly 1000 BC to 1000 AD. spanning from the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. In that age, it was the terminus point of the Silk Road and was the capital of cultural exchange and commerce in Ancient China.

Though Chinese dynasties date back thousands of years, the earliest recorded history in china is referred to the warring states period. It was not until the Qin Dynasty that all of China was united into one Empire, and thus Qin Shi Hung was the first emperor in 221 BC. It was this emperor, who was responsible for developing one united written language of China, that ordered the construction of the Terra cotta Army just east of Xi'an in his mausoleum. Very interesting how they were rediscovered in 1974 .

Farther to the south is the city of Chongqing. This inland mega city has reached a population of 32 million people, the largest municipality in China by sq km and total population ( though not the most dense). This has only become possible because of the construction of the three gorges damn and the new found ability to get large shipments up stream along the Yangtze.

The Three Gorges Dam Project may well have been the largest construction project undertaken in mankind history. Not only is it the largest Hydro-electric plant in the world, but the damming of the Yangtze river ( third largest river behind the the Nile and the Amazon ) caused the water level to rise 60 m (more the 180 ft.) for Hundreds of miles along the banks. The project displaced more than 1 million people in rural communities and relocated them to "new towns" built along the river at higher elevations above the new flood plain. Miles and miles or retaining walls and engineered embankment's. This placed all the old villages, some more than 500 years old, under water.

The region of the three gorges and the lesser three gorges is of gorgeous natural beauty. Traditional Chinese paintings, with its mountain tops and misty valleys were clearly inspired by this place. But the Chinese government ordered that these rural communities, which are based on close a connection to the river, change their traditional lifestyle to fit in to a high rise building that is completely void of the nature that they have grown to rely on.

I'm glad to have witnessed this Yangtze's river valley. I found it important and valuable to witness the "less publicly known" side of china, and see first had the immense scale of the three Gorge Project. The group I was travelling with organized a couple hours to visit an elementary school to interact with local children of the rural community. It's things like this that remind people how much we all have in common.

Beijing

Beijing's orthogonal street pattern is comforting. The northern Capital has been the center of Chinese culture since the Ming Dynasty (1450's) to present. Traditional Taoism, a religion uniquely Chinese in origin, is the premise to both the practice of feng shiu and the philosophy of yin and yang. The city core for example, it made up of the Forbidden city and its many palaces and based on North South - East-West orientation, split symmetrically down the North-South.

The rest of city is built on the same orientation and grid pattern, with concentric rings moving outward around the city making it easy to navigate ( just not on foot because of scale ). Interestingly, I am finding many contradicting forces in this continuously evolving country, seemingly in spite of these ideas of balance . A visit to Tia'namen Square for example, and one is greeted with a enormous public space in obvious reverence to Mao Ze Dong . People line up for a quarter mile to pay tribute to his "tomb," merely a modern version of the dynasty tombs he worked to destroy in the name of communist ideals.  Yet at the same time, you see men walking around in Business suits and peasants begging for change.

Just north of Tia'namen Square is the Forbidden city,as mentioned,  perfectly centered in the universe ( at least in theory). Some other ancient and traditional sites that I visited were the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven, both of which have traditional Chinese gardens. And a trip to China would not be complete without seeing the great wall. A 4,000 km long construction project that spanned dynasty's.

The hutongs, depending on who you ask, can either be jewels or slums. Essentially, the only remaining "old town" other than the palaces and tourist attractions, the hutongs are very much alive. The small scale pedestrian neighborhoods give you chance to envision life before the high rise in Beijing, Courtyard houses share toilets, doors painted red (usually left open) and pockets of gardens give a modest idea of what life in china might be like for the average person.

I have met people that think they should be wiped out and replaced with modern high rises and others that think they should remain untouched. Regardless, the land is valuable, and a more convincing scheme needs to be implemented for these vital but physically deteriorating communities. That is exactly what the Cal Poly group is working on in their studio. I am going to try and get some final images from their work to share.

Some modern examples can be found in Beijing through the CCTV headquarters by OMA , and a projects dubbed "Linked Hybrid" by New York Based Steven Holl architects. Both of which are large scale examples of new urban forms. Both examples start to cleverly mix vertical solid form with horizontal solid forms to provide a more provocative public domain. though they both serve different program, I feel both project's are a hint at a more functional move ment away from the monolithic high rise.

In many way I see no aspects of communism in China. Classicism is extremely prevalent. I do however feel that I can see China changing before my eyes. Beyond just the construction, I see the pressure of the younger citizens for continued reform, and a some times volatile transitions to a market based economy. From what I have found, the government is starting to pay for less and less things, the price of living is becoming more expensive, and the income gap is becoming greater. I feel like they want so bad to be held to the same standards as "Western Nations" (and they should be) yet at the same time are very apprehensive about swaying from their communist heritage.

Shanghai : Round One

Shanghai seems to be at the center of the world right now. Ok, that might be a bit ego-centric, but with the FIFA World Cup over and the WORLD EXPO 2010 in full swing, this international city of more then 16 million is buzzing ( and its not just the traffic horns).

I will be coming back to Shanghai in a couple of weeks and I thought to focus on the EXPO then, as my conclusion to CHINA. This first go was full of other activities.

I spent an afternoon at Urban planning Museum of Shanghai. I have actually never seen such a museum, even though I feel every large city should have one. Shanghai has had so much development in recent decades, It is great to see how the city has been put together.

Shanghai is home to the third Tallest building in the world, and I paid a visit (along with Cal Poly) to the 94th floor. The elevator pushes vertical at the speed of almost 100ft per sec. The weather prevented expansive views of the city, but we still were afforded a close look at the neighboring Jinmao Tower.

I also visited some art galleries near the BUND. Architect Kengo Kuma had an exhibition on some experimental architecture. He was working with a new material, essentially a membrane to create inflatable cells, or as he calls it"Air Bricks." Then connecting the cells with a continuous vein pumping air to create volume.

Shanghai has a clear international background. One side of the river contains classic architecture from the colonial period built by french and English colonialist, while the other side contains modern High rises and Skyscrapers. I know there is much more to see here, and the second stay is well deserved.