Architect Taketo Shimohigoshi has overcome the challenge of finding green space among dense, urban skylines with an elevated installation of vegetation. His design concept frames the city sky with slices of moss-covered beams, which define and connect the cityscape in a greener perspective. His vision has earned him a 2007 AR Award for Emerging Architecture – the definitive honor for young architects.
Shimohigoshi’s design is a direct response to site – Tokyo’s crowded built environment. On his AR entry, the architect described his intent “Vegetation handling in mid-air, where nature is not in its natural place, stirs up imagination and sensuality. This vegetation becomes a buffer where ground is connected to the sky.”
The jury, which included architecture heavies like Paul Finch from The Architectural Review, found Shimohigoshi’s approach a solution that addressed the welcome vibrancy that density brings to urban spaces while utilizing the “blank world of contiguous under-used space” above the city streets.
+ AR Awards 2007
+ Taketo Shimohigoshi / A.A.E.
What an ingenious idea, and great design!