Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Upon the island of Hokkaido, the project site is located at the third pier of Otaru Harbour, a local landmark with a rich history. In the past, the renowned canal and bridge of Shikinai Pier acted as the initial crossing point into the city for visitors traveling by ship. Today, although Otaru has many tourists and the canal remains a popular area, the histories of the site are largely forgotten.
The design is a series of long and narrow platforms that are overlapped and rotated at different vertical heights. Each platform is oriented to one of the harbour’s four historic points: the pier, the bridge and its connection to the former port customhouse, and the mountains that surround the harbour. While circulating the various spaces of the architecture and looking upon the framed viewpoints of Otaru, the visitor is able to re-capture memories that were at risk of being lost, while the experiences offer the possibility for new histories.
This project was produced by Ksuke Fukushima (N LLC).
