Anime Architecture
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traditional
like most of the world, Japan was once a rural nation. The past is often used as a full setting;
alternatively, parts of the past still exist in the present day, or even the future.
farm village
- rice is the most common crop – still is, due to subsidies. however, it is not suitable for
every climate. In colder climates other grains are grown.
- villages are clusters of a few buildings surrounded by fields.
Farmhouses are built of unpainted wood with
thatched roofs. The roofs are high in
comparison to the walls.
Anime Architecture
old city houses – Kyoto
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like farmhouses, often of wooden construction. Some have masonry party walls between
buildings for fire protection.
note very low ceiling heights of just over 2 meters, even lower for second story
roof slopes around 30 degrees. windows are translucent screens.
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Anime Architecture
temples - and Todaiji Daibutsu-den and Kofuku-ji Pagoda, Nara
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also uses wooden post and beam construction, but on much bigger scale.
large projecting roof protects walls from rain.
Japanese variation of pagoda form features exceptionally wide roof overhangs
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Anime Architecture
castle – Osaka Castle
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built both to showcase wealth and power, but also having military functions, castles feature
compact shapes with fewer windows.
surrounding the castle are other fortifications and a moat.
note how castle is sited on high ground
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Anime Architecture
tatami
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these approximately 2 x 1 meter woven mats are the typical traditional flooring material, and are
used as a seating surface in the day, and a sleeping surface at night. They are springy but firm,
and contain air pockets that provide insulation.
to keep the mats clean, Japanese people remove shoes before entering the house.
dividing the modular tatami rooms are sliding screens, made of paper and wood.
while western style interiors are becoming increasingly popular, tatami rooms remain common
in Japan.
Anime Architecture
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classical
during the prewar period of modernization, Japan copied both Western technology and culture. In the
case of the built environment, this included both modern construction methods and classical European
architecture.
office block- building in Marunouchi
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brick buildings ornamented with columns and roof details.
associated with “old money” corporations with many decades or centuries of history and banks.
ceiling heights are generous to allow sunlight into the back of the building. Center of building
contains a courtyard for a similar purpose.
Anime Architecture
train station – Tokyo Station
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the Tokyo train station is an example of the national style of Japan during the early 20th century
– red brick with white stone details, topped by copper domes and roofs.
most buildings of this style are in the 1 to 5 story range.
floor heights are in the 4 meter range, twice that of traditional wooden houses.
Many of the old train stations still in use have much larger modern concrete and steel additions
behind them to accommodate increased passenger traffic.
Anime Architecture
observation tower- Ryounkaku
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-ryounkaku (also known as asakusa 12 stories)
was Japan’s first highrise building
-designed by a western engineer
-built 1890, collapsed 1923 in earthquake
-more than just a symbol, building was also an
exhibition hall of modern technological products.
-note western style windows with glass panes
and arched tops
Anime Architecture
university – University of Tokyo, Yasuda Auditorium
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founded a few years after Cal in the late 19th century, the University of Tokyo is Japan’s leading
university. It is a public school.
the basic layout of clock tower with symmetric wings design has been copied endlessly in
Japanese school design.
note “collegiate gothic” gate, and general resemblance to moses and stephens hall.
Anime Architecture
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late 20th century
for both its technological image, as well as its ease of mass production, the Modern style was dominant
in the period of rapid economic growth from the 1950s to the 1980s.
school
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note similarity in massing to university building
central tower contains clock and stairs
wings feature rows of classrooms with exterior hallways
roof is flat, and is used for hanging out, smoking, and ditching class
school grounds are walled and gated
Anime Architecture
classroom
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layout is always a hierarchical grid
class sizes are larger than their American equivalents
sometimes the front of the room, where the teacher stands, is on a raised platform, to symbolize
respect and authority.
Anime Architecture
apartment block
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buildings contain a row of apartments, with a staircase at each end. Taller buildings have
elevator shafts in the middle.
balconies are standard features for all apartments, and are one of the main distinguishing
factors between apartments and office buildings.
balconies are used for hanging laundry and mounting air conditioners, among other things.
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Anime Architecture
neighborhood – niigata
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this cluster of apartments is built right up to a densely filled in cemetery.
Taller buildings have sloped upper floors to permit light to reach neighboring buildings. These
slopes generally are on the northern side of the building.
Note how housing, shopping, factories, and civic buildings are all located in close proximity.
This makes for a walkable neighborhood that does not require much driving or parking space.
Anime Architecture
railroad tracks
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while California grows around freeways, Japan grows around railroad tracks. As such, most
tracks are at ground level, since they were there first, and development takes place around
them.
bullet trains or lines in city centers frequently are elevated, to avoid crossings.
except in rural areas, most lines are electrified. This is nicer than living next to a freeway, as he
trains are quieter, and don’t pollute.
apartment complex in foreground is of the older, walkup type.
Anime Architecture
freeway
- almost always elevated, and with sound walls on the sides. Frequently double or triple decked.
due to lack of space, freeways are often built above streams or just off the coast.
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Anime Architecture
alley houses
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walls provide a small but private yard
houses grow various exterior modifications over time
name of resident is on vertical sign on wall of house, often near entrance
the road is driveable – Japan designed cars to fit their cities, not the other way around.
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Anime Architecture
main street, japan
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first floor contains shops. Many stores are simply open in the front with just a roll-down door,
and use sidewalk as display space. People will walk in the street. Cars deal with it.
many businesses have signs with English (sometimes Engrish) names for cosmetic purposes.
second floor contains office space.
note extensive use of signs by every business
Anime Architecture
downtown entertainment district – Shinjuku
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similar to normal commercial street, except the buildings are taller and the signs are louder.
elevator penthouse turned into four-sided neon sign
in extremely popular areas, retail and restaurants extend up past the first floor, to fill entire tenstory buildings.
streets are for people, not for cars
Anime Architecture
skyscrapers – Shinjuku office buildings and hotels
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highrise construction began in the late 1960s
until recently, Tokyo skyline was limited to Shinjuku, where several towers were built on the site
of an old water treatment plant.
tall buildings are usually located in close proximity to train stations
-shinjuku highrises are built on top of retail
podiums similar to Japantown in San Francisco.
- wide elevated roads run through the area.
- buildings are around 50 floors high, similar in
shape and size to Bank of America bldg in San
Francisco.
- overall feel of the area is like Walnut Creek
extruded upwards.
Anime Architecture
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present day
recession of 1990s ended speculative high-speed overdevelopment. While rate of economic growth is
slower, Japan remains prosperous, and architecture has flourished… for the most part.
media center – Sendai Mediatheque
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a multiuse building with library, computer, and cultural facilties
features innovative structural system to create open floors within.
walls are glass with screens where needed.
Anime Architecture
train station – Kyoto station
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- land around train stations is the most valuable due to high traffic, and are prime retail locations.
- building has big atrium to reduce sense of
enclosure.
- mixed uses feature retail, entertainment, hotel,
and public space.
Anime Architecture
exhibition hall – Expo 2000 Japan Pavilion
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made entirely of paper- structure is cardboard tube
high tech reinterpretation of traditional materials
designed with environmental sustainability, flexibility, and earthquake resistance in mind
custom house – 4 x 4 house
- lower levels have fewer windows for privacy
- house rises four floors to maximize small site
and also to obtain views of coast
- building made of very well crafted concrete
Anime Architecture
suburbia
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houses are developer built in large subdivisions
designs cheaply imitate classical western mansions or traditional Japanese houses.
most feature a garage or carport, however, two car garages are very rare
like in the bay area, suburban living is limited to the rich and those willing to commute many
hours each day
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Anime Architecture
future visions
High population density and industrialization prompted architects and planners to start thinking about
better ways to pack people in as early as the 1950s. Later on, with the development of space
exploration first in the U.S. and later in Japan, interest in space colonization has grown.
metabolist megastructure – early 1960s
- new land is created in the sky, or on water, by construction of megastructures containing
transportation and infrastructure. Individual pods are added on and change over time.
capsule building – self contained rooms “plugged in” to elevator core.
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Anime Architecture
vertical city – Sky City 1000
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conceptual design developed by major construction and real estate company
creates stacked plaza-floors, each of which forms a neighborhood
view of entire project, approximately 1 km tall. Building would be located above a train station and
contain offices, shopping, housing, schools, the works.
urban planning – Tokyo, late 1990s
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Tokyo has a very low amount of park space for its population, making popular tower in the park
designs which would not work elsewhere.
in practice, due to difficulty of land acquisition, huge projects are rare, with highrises being built
individually instead.
Anime Architecture
underground buildings – alice city
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another conceptual design, this was one of the inspirations for the “Geofront” (Geological
Frontier) in Evangelion.
legislation has been passed to limit land ownership to a certain depth below ground, in
preparation for underground development.
currently underground development consists mostly of infrastructure and shopping malls.
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Anime Architecture
space station – cylindrical design from Gundam
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space station copied from NASA drawings in the 1970s.
big tube several kilometers long.
tube spins to create artificial gravity
fins reflect sunlight into the tube. At “night”, fins are turned slightly.
rockets land at the non-rotating center of the tube end cap.
In Gundam, the landscape and architecture on the inside resembles 20th century Japan.
exterior surface features the standard sci-fi pattern of windows on plate metal.
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Anime Architecture
planetary colonization –extraterrestrial cities from Cowboy Bebop
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green, white, and blue are dominant colors
transportation networks are exaggerated
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Anime Architecture
fantasy
borrowing heavily from western fairy tale aesthetics, these elaborate styles blend in influences from
traditional Japanese architecture and science fiction.
supernatural city – from Spirited Away
lights are in the red/orange/yellow palette, to evoke old oil lamps and a feeling of warmth.
an actual bathhouse and the elaboratified one in the anime
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Anime Architecture
medieval fantasy – from Final Fantasy XI
- western style castles with changes in the ornamentation to create unique style
focus on nature, with architecture integrated into trees or land formations
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Anime Architecture
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mix of medieval and the modern – academy from Utena
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the forms are classical or gothic, however, the scale and colors are modern, creating a dynamic
contrast.
structural elements such as flying buttresses and steel trusses are emphasized
physics need not apply in fantasy or science fiction
Anime Architecture
High tech fantasy – Crystal Tokyo from Sailor Moon
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note similarity to Tokyo city planning model
heavy use of green, blue, and white palette- the colors of an environmentally friendly future.
dramatic lighting is used at night
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Anime Architecture
REFERENCES
Late 20th Century
World City Photos
http://www.worldcityphotos.org/Japan/
Present Day
Japan Architects
http://www.japan-architects.com/
Future Visions
Underground Space database
http://www.gel.civil.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/database/data.html
High Frontier – Space Stations
http://www.dyarstraights.com/msgundam/frontier.html
Sky City 1000
http://www.takenaka.co.jp/takenaka_e/superhigh/2skycity/skycity.htm
Fantasy
FFX-2 Last Mission screens with translation
http://www.warmech.net/special/lastmission/lastmission.html
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