ORBIT BAZZAR is a community center for a small mountain village of about 8,000 inhabitants. The facilities are loosely organized around a gymnasium with spectator seats and include Judo and Kendo traininghalls, a workoutgym, cultural center, library, day-care center, welfare institution and - outdoors - an event plaza and small park. These facilities are linked, by surrounded or penetrated, by an odd-shaped curvilinear path. Similar elevated circulation elements, called SKYPATHS, have been used in the following projects by Hidetoshi Ohno:
ORBIT BAZZAR ORBIT BAZZAR
Matsushiro apartments designed in 1989 and completed in 1993. METEORIC MARKET project, designed in 1991. YKK Dormitory designed in 1992 and completed in 1994. Each SKYPATH:
is a closed, curving circulation system;
links several parts of each complex;
is elevated and has a unique, formal expression.Generally, architectural circulation systems are designed to minimize the distance between destinations. Consequently they occupy building cores and radiate similar to human skeleton or blood circulation systems.
In such systems neither random walking nor "bar hopping" is possible because each corridor has its own destination and, dead ends. In addition, the choices of route to the destination are limited.
By contrast, SKYPATHS, which connect architectural peripheries, provide for walking and "bar hopping". SKYPATHS are similar to the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, the Ring Strasse in Vienna, Japanese gardens in the go-round style, or a cycling course in a public park.
SKYPATHS as an organizing element
In the Matsushiro apartments and YKK Dormitory in Namerikawa, SKYPATHS form the major circulation system. In ORBIT BAZZAR meanwhile, the SKYPATH plays a secondary role. In both cases, SKYPATHS are an architectural element that treats independently each part of the complex without dominating the whole complex.The SKYPATH provides opportunities to experience diverse places in the complex which is without "wholeness". In most contemporary architectural project the sense of "wholeness" is tentative. It is always changing, especially in contemporary contexts. For instance, one might not expect a training gym, library, and day-care center to be found in one building, as in the case of the Tokikawamura sports complex. Accordingly, inappropriate "strong forms" for "weak combinations" of activities should be avoided!
Neverthless, in fact several community facilities are gathered at Tokikawamura. The architectural solution is intended to provide for alternative heterogenious activities. The SKYPATH is intended to facilitate the links between several facilities, increasing the efficiency of each. It also provides an opportunities to discover new unplanned functions.
At the same time, different parts of the complex may be considered as urban. People will use this complex for different purposes and motivations at different times. In order to exploit this diversity one need of the built environment is the "route of choice". SKYPATH will provide for such choices; users can choose route from several alternate paths.
SKYPATH is also able to activate spaces in the complex in terms of creating intersections of sightlines and simultaneous existence of different type of activity.
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