FIXES

Non-Intentional Design: Investigating alterations of space/objects at the public/private boundary in suburban Tokyo, Japan. A resource by a-small-lab.com. Contact: Chris Berthelsen chris@a-small-lab.com

Coin Parking BMX Training Update

As noted in Deadspace Parking as BMX Training Course these income-generating asphalt plots become obstacle courses for budding and/or PRO suburban Tokyo BMXers from 12:30am onwards. Tonight as I return in the Dark Hourz I find the same man in a different coin parking space. I wonder whether he moves around to avoid detection or whether these spaces offer a valuable diversity of terrain that I have not before detected….. I need to look at those wheel clamps, judder bars and smooth asphalts more carefully.

Deadspace Parking as BMX Training Course

We often decry Tokyo parking lot deadspace as an unimaginative and underused default money-making use for vacant lots but this stance exposes our own prejudices against concrete and blinds us to the diverse possibilities that the rugged terrain may offer.

Here, a half-empty suburban Tokyo pay-parking lot is the scene of a solo BMX training session in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

It is easier to record the remnants and artifacts of human(e) use of the city than it is to record use-in-action, but this example encourages me to spend more dark hours wandering the streets.

I wonder how these deadspaces by design are used when prying eyes are asleep: Deadspace by Design ONE & TWO on Tokyo Green Space.







The site in daylight:








Private Bar in Front of Station

Use the carry rack of your bicycle for a coaster, the lid of your drink as an ashtray – a simple private bar in front of the station.

Private Bar in Front of Station
Private Bar in Front of Station
Private Bar in Front of Station
Private Bar in Front of Station

Materials: Bicycle, Lid, Public Bench
Location: Akshima, Tokyo

PET Bottle Mobile Storage

Storage for a PET bottle on the go.

PET Bottle Mobile Storage

PET Bottle Mobile Storage

PET Bottle Mobile Storage

Materials: Bicycle
Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Rubbish Bin Drying With Bicycle

Rubbish bin cleaned and out to dry on a spare bicycle.

Rubbish Bin Drying With Bicycle
Rubbish Bin Drying With Bicycle

Materials: Bicycle
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Bicycle Parking Forms Walkway

Bicycles are parked in a way which creates a path of least distance from the exit of the train station to the nearest convenience store. I imagine that one reason for this courtesy is to try to stave off retribution for parking in a no parking zone – another may be the subconscious adherence to the paved markings in front of the shop (a very subtle but effective form of control).

Bicycle Parking Forms Walkway
Bicycle Parking Forms Walkway
Bicycle Parking Forms Walkway

Materials: Bicycles
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Bric-a-Brac Bearing Bicycle via @tokyotimes

A fantastic shot of vehicle-cum-storage via Tokyo Times

Materials: Bicycle, Wire
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Reference: http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/?p=4742

Mega-Cities: Design Anthropology and Urban Landscapes
I'm delighted and honoured to have my FIXES work included in Jared Braiterman's Tokyo University graduate seminar on mega-cities.
You can download the syllabus [HERE]


Thanks to the URBAN DESIGN Lab 西村・北沢・窪田 都市デザイン研究室, Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo for making this a featured resource of their lab [LINK]

Vision Plus 2010
Thanks to the organizers of the conference for selecting this project as a featured resource, even though I was not able to attend.




Article: Small Places of Anarchy in the City: Three Investigations in Tokyo on This Big City

Article: The Non-Intentional Landscape of Tokyo - read at This Big City

Article: Framework for Neighbourhood Creative Climate - read at This Big City

Tokyo Green Space from Jared Braiterman is a great inspiration [LINK]

Urban Bricolage by @ehooge is an inspiring site on a related theme [LINK]

Treepolis by Christoph Rupprecht inspires me with investigations into informal green space, cities, and urban ecology with a focus on Australia and Japan [LINK]

Everyday Structures by @alanwiig is another fine site in the same vein [LINK]