Yokohama International Port Terminal

KUNIHIKO HAYAKAWA ARCHITECT AND ASSOCIATES

Apparatus for Facilitating "Flow"1994

The terminal is a place where transportation includes the transition of motion, as any transfer imparts a change in flow. While these flows encompass people, cars, objects and energy, they are also the flow of real-time information and meaning. The "apparatus" of an intricate network of movement - made up of traffic paths, elevators and escalators, moving walkways and bridges, information and images on jumbo monitors and screens - is contained within a simple form. From the subtle motions of a departing ocean voyage to the swirling vortical currents caused by sudden entrances, motions change with the nuances of each journey. We combined the functions of a cruise terminal with amenities for city dwellers. In this sense, many passages may converge and be brought together on the Big Pier that can be seen as an island on which a unfied, "linear city" is floating.

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