Itabu Pied-à-Terre
with critics Yolande Daniels and Gary He
with critics Yolande Daniels and Gary He
“This is the wrong time to visit. There won’t be anything to do there for more than 15 minutes”
-taxi driver commentary, on our way to the Itabu site
Tasked with developing a new station building for Itabu train station, I first began with the motives of people who did visit this ill-frequented site.
As the taxi driver alluded, the site was engineered for a time-specific scene, of blooming canola flowers and cherry blossoms, vegetation that only provided a draw for two weeks every April. The irony of Itabu - named thusly because of the rice fields in the area - being associated with these artificially introduced plants led me to develop a new ecological tourism, on the other side of the train tracks, for all other times of the year.
As the taxi driver alluded, the site was engineered for a time-specific scene, of blooming canola flowers and cherry blossoms, vegetation that only provided a draw for two weeks every April. The irony of Itabu - named thusly because of the rice fields in the area - being associated with these artificially introduced plants led me to develop a new ecological tourism, on the other side of the train tracks, for all other times of the year.
I began with restructuring existing rice fields to create a scenographic view to the station. By filling the fields with lotus flowers and various fauna, it was possible to create scenes that could be appreciated by the public year-round.
The low roof directs views directly into the rice paddies, covering a public footbath below it for weary travellers - an activity popular in winter months.
