TOKYO SKETCH BOOK
建築見学ー2004

Architecture Visit report on :

'YOKOHAMA INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TERMINAL' was my first 建築見学,after I had left BUET.Unlike all other buildings I visited in Osaka,it was a part of my design course of T.T.C.I took a lot of pictures with my newly bought Degital camera(may,2004) and just couldn't wait to make poster by newly learnt softwares in myschool !!!was quite excited to do something and show myself!! 'The poster is cool,but you should take care of your Japanese', my teacher told me after presentation.I tried my best to make a Bi-lingual poster as I was not much confident with my Japanese language skill,in those days.Anyway,finally I could make them pleased by my new style(!)of presentation(as they made comment on it)!!

THE REPORT : (Architect:FOA - Farshid Musavi and Alezandro ZaeraPolo)

• Site-context:The 70m/430m terminal building is positioned orthogonally to the Yokohama water-front and Yamashita park.
• The fundamental approach: According to the architect, the fundamental approach of the design was the intension to transform the ground into an active surface, a built-up layout plan from which the architectural elements emerge as improbable and fluctuating forms.
  Here the building itself becomes a surface of different intensities and controlling the traffic flows between the city and the port, the inhabitants and the ship passengers. In fact here the surface becomes pleated to channel the traffic lanes while also playing its structural role.
  The ground of the city is connected to the boarding level and from there it bifurcates. I think it encourages the interaction between the URBAN SPACE and the TERMINAL below.
• Formal-expression: The structure is comparatively linear along its length. As a form it has a very dynamic look. You can feel that your body is close to the large part of the structure, but you would be distant from the feeling the weight of the structure. The wood planking, hand rails and constant see view emphasize the image of a ship.
• The functional spaces and the interior: the whole structure is divided into 3 layers : (1)the basement layer is the machinery.
  (2)the 1st floor is for parking area ,emergency centre etc.(3)the 2nd floor is for the passenger terminal and the multipurpose hall (4)the roof-top plaza and the visitors’ deck.
  The roof top has gentle 2 directional curves. The interior of the building has no columns or beams, creating a specious environment. There are no stairs, creating a barrier free environment where the visitors move between the levels by slopes or the elevators.
• Into the belly of the Beast:
  Entering the terminal feels like being swallowed by a huge pre-historic creature with a strong and heavy skeleton.
• The structural system: It’s a steel-frame structure. The ceiling is of folded plate-structure. It is made of projecting triangles across the grain contrasting with the length of the building. The column-free space is spanned by main trusses and rest on the box girders.
• Conclusion:
  FOA created a building that fits smoothly into this context, surrounded by a skyline that speaks of environment. I think this terminal is an interface between the open sea and the dense Tokyo-Yokohama metropolis. It is also a transition space between local people and the strangers. For locals its main function is as a park and for the arrivals it is the first connection with the main land.