Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DESIGNING THE FUTURE
To discover the absolute bleeding edge of Japanese design, time your trip to coincide with
Tokyo Design Week
(Oct/Nov; see p.27), which will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary in 2015.
Aoyama, Roppongi and the outer grounds of Meji Jingu are the focus for the annual whirlwind
of events, exhibitions and installations that take place in giant tents and container crates as
well as galleries and shops. Sampling the future is part of what TDW is all about, which makes
for a lot of shows that tend toward the experimental rather than the commercial.
Even more anarchic and colourful are the twice yearly
Design Festa
events (May & Nov/Dec;
see p.26); if you don't happen to be in town for one of them you can get a very good idea of
the kinds of bizarre and beautiful things they can throw up by visiting the permanent
Design
Festa Gallery
tucked away in Harajuku's backstreets (see p.113).
Architecture
There's seldom been much of a grand plan to Tokyo's built environment, which has
resulted in the city's cluttered, ad hoc look. However, the capital's great wealth and
relative lack of planning restrictions have given architects almost unparalleled freedom
to realize their wildest dreams. A fascinating time can be spent tracing the capital's
modern evolution through its buildings, many designed by local luminaries. Winners
of the Pritzker Prize, the architecture world's most prestigious accolade, include Tange
Kenzō, Maki Fumihiko, Andō Tadao, Sejima Kazuyo and Nishizawa Ryūe (of practice
SANAA), and Itō Toyō.
It's incredible how modern and daring
Tange Kenzō
's iconic 1960s Olympic Stadium
(see p.107) and St Mary's Cathedral (see p.131), still look beside his late-career Tokyo
Metropolitan Government Building (see p.120) and Fuji TV building (see p.86) - two
structures that could have been ripped from the pages of a sci-fi manga. The practice
that Tange founded is also responsible for one of Tokyo's most recent “wow” structures:
the cool and sleek
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower
(see p.122), duly dubbed the 2008
Skycraper of the Year by the prestigious Emporis (
W
emporis.com).
A less-is-more decorative aesthetic is the leitmotif of
Andō Tadao
, one of Japan's
aforementioned sextet of Pritzker Prize winners. The architect, whose Tokyo buildings
include Omotesandō Hills (see p.112), collaborated on Tokyo Midtown's
21_21 Design
Sight
gallery (see p.94), alongside fashion icon Issey Miyake, and product designers
Fukasawa Naoto and Satoh Taku.
Ginza is a prime district to see cutting-edge architecture:
Itō Toyō
is Mikimoto
Ginza 2 building serves as a good example, as does the LED-covered Chanel building.
Ginza is also a local hub of
graphic design
, curated in a collection of small galleries
(see box, p.52).
Recent developments have seen the city take a bit of a step back. Locals have been
unimpressed by the ugly
Tokyo Skytree
- completed in 2011 along ostensibly
“traditional” lines - and the boxy Shibuya Hikarie building which went up the
following year. In 2013 protests followed the release of Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid's
2020 Olympic stadium
design, and the government announced that the ¥300 billion
design would be scaled back.
Design
In Tokyo's
home furnishing
and
interior design
shops you can find iconic products such
as Yanagi Sori's butterfly stool and cutlery collection, or Isamu Noguchi's paper lantern
lamps, as well as new instant classics by rising local and overseas talents. Check out the
beautiful telephones and DVD players of Amadana (see p.191) or the curvilinear
humidifiers and fans of Fukasawa Naoto's ±0 (Plus Minus Zero) range (see p.191). Also
acting as top design galleries are
“select shops”
(boutiques) such as Cibone (see p.197),
J-Period (see p.197) and Do at the
Claska
hotel (see p.197), or the gift shop of the
