Section 1: Wasted and Reclaimed Landscapes - Designing New Landscapes for the Metropolis

Designing New Landscapes for the Metropolis Yoji Sasaki Two characters define the Japanese word for “landscape”: the first, fuu, in English means “wind”; the second, kei, means “scape”. It is significant that fuu is used instead of the character for “land” or “earth”. Direct translation of the two characters is full of suggestions about the original meaning of “landscape” in the Japanese language. Wind, fuu, an invisible phenomenon, symbolizes nature, but also the accumulation of time in a place, the passing of history. Together with kei, the visible objects or surfaces, the characters describe a space willfully created to express a relationship between people and nature. While visible objects on the ground might sym- bolize elements of nature, they only become a landscape design by combining all elements of nature, including people, plants, buildings, roads and water. As cities become larger, the scales and dimensions of architecture and open spaces become wider and more complex. Yet no matter how city space changes in scale, one question remains a constant challenge for landscape Left: Collapsed express highway in the city of Kobe as a result of the January 1995 earthquake. Right and below: Pedestrian mall and section of the semi-public green seating area for the HAT development in Kobe: an example of the use of “life fields” in urban regeneration after the earthquake. Sasaki / Designing New Landscapes