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Written by Ryoko (translated by Kevin McGue): An absolutely fascinating article in PingMag on how Shibuya (a hip, youth-oriented area) and Marunouchi (a more upscale and dignified area) are designed differently. While those sorts of differences are things we think we expect to recognize and anticipate, it's very effective to have them laid out and itemized so clearly.

Ryoko's analysis starts with how the train stations for each district are designed differently, and how they therefore signal different trends and intentions. From there, the piece moves to "towns," that is the districts themselves, paying particular attention to outdoor/ public advertising and streetscapes, and architecture; then, a comparison of how greenery and public seating arrangements are used (or are absent); next, it's the streets themselves, this time with a focus on layout and grade (interestingly, Shibuya slopes and has many changes in grade, as well as narrower streets, while more sedate Marunouchi is level and has wider streets); finally, the author looks at products: what's for sale, particularly in terms of publications/ magazines.

Tags: pingmag, shibuya, marunouchi, urban_design, cities, tokyo, districts, conscientious_design on 2008-06-03 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Great piece with examples of construction fences that got the artistic treatment. Fabulous stuff, as always, from PingMag & Tokyo.

Tags: pingmag, tokyo, grafitti, construction_fences, art on 2008-04-22 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

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Eye-candy for night-owls... Bling for boulevard babies... Classy neon. Trust the Japanese -- can we have a bit of Japan here?

Tags: design, pingmag, tokyo, typography, neon, cities on 2008-04-11 and saved by11 people -All Annotations (0) -About

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Part 2 of a fascinating trek down Omotesando Street in Tokyo, which seems studded front to back with "starchitect" buildings.

Tags: architecture, omotesando, ping_mag, tokyo on 2008-03-20 -All Annotations (0) -About

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This I love. It reminds me of a really cool and timely update of Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas about texture, and how the appropriate emphasis on surface texture will relate to your bodily experiences, will make you experience time differently (perhaps more slowly -- note the knobby quality of the highly polished "bon-bons" vs the smooth glass of the entry, not to mention the strict geometry of the stairs (see esp'y the 3rd picture).

Tags: courtyard, embodiment, frank_lloyd_wright, materiality, tadao_ando, tokyo on 2008-01-23 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

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- this is terrific: Mafuyu Murakami knits, passionately. She knits all kinds of beautiful things, including houses you can wear. Really. Reminded me of a line in The Avengers' episode, "Something Nasty in the Nursery": Steed & Mrs.Peel have to burst in on The Arkwright Knitting Circle, run by an ex-CEO who directs a dozen grandmothers in knitting projects. "What are they knitting?" Steed asks casually as he & Emma chase the bad guy. "A bungalow," answers the shaken Mr. Arkwright. Mafuyu, needless to say, is way past the starter bungalow stage already!

Tags: knitting, mafuyu, ping_mag, tokyo on 2007-12-24 -All Annotations (0) -About

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