Location Powers

OGC is hosting a meeting next month that sounds fascinating. Location Powers will be a smart cities meeting in Tokyo, Japan that focusing "on understanding the location and place needs of a Smart City." It seems very geodesign-ish, but is more focused on the specific applications within the urban setting.

Garden toilet

Last year when a Japanese designer named Sou Fujimoto built a garden space toilet, it might have seemed like a gag. After all, the video hardly makes it look like a garden. But this fall's garden toilet, also by Fujimoto, looks like a game changer. And before you write off Fujimoto as a Bansky-type provocateur, check out his extensive record as a serious architect.

Tsunami resource

Google has created an unbelievable resource for exploring and understanding the full scope of the Japanese tsunami: Memories for the Future.  They have already generated a massive update of StreetView images and created this interface which allows you to flip between Before and After photos.  Exploring the devastation is painful but helps you realize the full extent of the damage.

Comparison photos from Japan

The NYTimes has some stunning before and after images from Japan.

11:550:403 Japanese Gardens Within Cultural Context

New course in Environmental Planning & Design

11:550:403 Japanese Gardens Within Cultural Context (3)
Seiko Goto
Fall 2009 - MTh 10:55-12:15 PM

Course description: Since Japan was considered to be the end of the silk road, many aspects of its culture were originally introduced from China, Korea, and other Asian countries. This course will investigate not only the history of Japanese gardens but also the characteristics of other Japanese art through gardens.

There are two aspects to this course: The first is a series of lectures in which different style of Japanese architecture and gardens are introduced. Topics include public and private space; religion; as well as ideology and Modern Landscape Architecture designs in the United States. The second part of this course will study the historical, cultural and political background that influenced the garden designs examining various other art disciplines, such as painting, crafts, and literature. The final objective of this course is not only to introduce Japanese gardens, but also to bring about an understanding of the similarity and differences between other Asian cultures and the role of Japanese gardens in North America. Each lecture will be followed up with assigned readings.

Common Lecture: Osaka Summer Trip

Rob Rose, Kat Kohler, and Mark McCarthy gave a presentation on their summer trip to Osaka, Japan. They reported on their visit to the Osaka Japanese Garden Design Symposium with Drs. Goto and Hamilton. Much of their time was spent in the gardens and grounds of the 1970 Osaka Expo. To explain the importance of specific principles of garden design, examples were shown from gardens like Daisen-In.



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Noguchi park in Japan

Noguchi designed a great-looking park inside a river ox-bow Sapporo called Moerenuma Park. Unfortunately, it is far from Osaka and Tokyo and not a place that as many LAs are likely to visit. It is a hude park experience - like the California Scenario times 10. But, in this park almost every feature is meant as an object for play.

It is fairly widely described online including an entry in Wikipedia, a profile in Land+Living, a nice Flickr photostream, a nice write-up on a Sapporo site, and some early post-construction photodocumentation. Check themout, because the photo (above) from Wikipedia doesn't even begin to capture the variety and volume in this park.

I don't know how I would pull it off, but as a Noguchi fan I look forward to visiting someday and will keep it on my lifelist.