Masato otaka biography of martin

Seeking to transcend a conventional building-by-building approach to development, “some Metabolists began designing entire cities predicated on innovative solutions to urban planning problems.” Some of the most experimental designs sought to overcome reliance on one of Japan’s scantest resources: land.

Masato otaka biography of martin

Kiyonori Kikutake’s Marine City, pictured above, is one example. Pernice says: “It was conceived in 1958 but never built, although it’s worth noting that his Aquapolis, another floating city he designed on a smaller scale, was built as the Japan pavilion at the 1975 World Expo in Okinawa.

This shows that even some of the more ambitious designs were actually able to be executed using the technologies available the time.”

While the retro-future aesthetic of the Metabolists’ work is emblematic of their time, its value today is more than simply nostalgic.

The Metabolists experimented with ideas that are seeing renewed relevance around the globe due to population growth