OTARU, JAPAN (1988)
At Otaru, this commercial development rebuilds and improves the facilities of the port town. New structures are covered in earth and landscaped providing an extensive urban park at the harbor's edge. A canopied promenade in the Japanese tradition of arcaded shopping streets organizes the design by linking the existing railroad station to the new commercial, residential, cultural, educational and recreational facilities. The glazed, sinuous arcade, called the 'Maritime Promenade of the Four Seasons,' simultaneously offers protection from the cold winter winds and opens out to constantly changing colorful interior vistas of the winter garden: flowers and plants exist year-round to maintain the organic connection with the natural landscape. Near the water's edge, an open air boardwalk symbolically reflects the protected indoor arcade as it moves out toward the sea. By placing a landscaped park above the building facilities putting the green over the gray architecture and nature are harmoniously united.
