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Rethinking Tokyo

 

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Tokyo is a place where traditional customs and modern technology coexist. It is the cultural, financial, and administrative center of Japan. It is also the most populated urban area in the world. Living in Tokyo can be stressful. Long working hours, strict laws and etiquette, and limited freedom of expression are among major issues.

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I have visited Tokyo several times over the years. While being there, I learned several things about Japan that inspired me as a designer to start absorbing the surroundings and architecturally transformed them into design possibilities. The concept of the Rethinking Tokyo series focuses on the words “stress and people.”  The visionary images depict places of freedom where people can be themselves. I began the ideation process in my sketchbook, where the design began to take shape.  I employed various methods of digital imaging, including three-dimensional models and digital painting techniques to bring ideas to life. The images are created to resemble traditional ukiyo-e (woodblock print).

 

Salarymen Park

A white-collar businessman in Japan is known a salaryman. The working hours of an average salary-man are 11-13 hours/day.  They spend the night at the office, sleep on a couch, entertain clients, and drinking with their colleagues.  Inspired by the life of a salary-man and Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, I create a multi-purpose park where salarymen can take their time off, forget about their work, and become children again. There is no cure for a hectic life but there is always a way to rejuvenate the soul.

 

Tokyo Graffiti

As the hip-hop movement becomes a global phenomenon, many Japanese youngsters have adopted the culture as their own. The popularity of graffiti, as associated with hip-hop, has become a venue to relieve stress among people. However, graffiti in Japan is treated more than a crime. It is an aberration of behavior that will be punished severely. The proposed environment for graffiti is a semi-open gallery where graffiti artists can legally create removable artworks on surfaces covered by clear plastic wrap. The gallery is built to resemble abandon buildings where graffiti can be rightfully appreciated.

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Hanabi (Firework)

Dancing in Japan is not illegal but club dancing is treated as a moral threat according to the Japanese law written in 1948. After the incident of police club raiding in 2012, clubbers in Tokyo now only bob their heads to the beat. No one dares to dance. My idea is to propose a club where creative dancing is introduced. The combination of traditional and club dancing allows people to have a good time without fear. It serves as a place where old and new generations come together to fill up the gaps and preserve the precious traditions of Japan.

 

A hybrid between art and design, the Rethinking Tokyo series depicts visionary spaces of freedom in Tokyo, Japan.