Resisting Alienation

Osaka is viewed as a microcosm of an Asian metropolis in this project. With its immense population density, mature social structure, and highly developed commercial exchanges, the city is experiencing increasing alienation among its residents. This has led to severe issues, such as high stress levels, declining birth rates, and demographic imbalances. In such a highly sophisticated megacity, wellbeing is of paramount importance. The city vision proposed in this project advocates for a substantial increase in the presence of high-quality mental spaces within the urban environment. By adopting a pastoral urban structure and a collective network that respects individual privacy, it celebrates healthy social distances between people, aiming to reignite enthusiasm for life in a new urban paradigm.

To achieve this ideal urban structure, the project explores the concept of a “m³ city.” This vision breaks free from the conventional vertical office tower systems, instead radiating 360-degree multi-dimensional spaces throughout the cityscape. Diverse communities are distributed across these massive, city-spanning structures. Inspired by the shapes of traditional Japanese family crests, modular community spaces are interspersed above different urban hubs, maintaining appropriate spatial scales and distances.

The project particularly emphasises different access modes, distinguishing between traditional Osaka city spaces and the new elevated spaces above. It respects the reality of high-stress urban living while proposing a new philosophy of life: “escape from pressure zones” and “clean separation of work and life.” This approach allows the city to embody both “pastoral” and “metropolitan” dual characteristics, enabling people to transition between them seamlessly and with ease, actively resisting the deepening urban alienation that seems inevitable.

This project was completed in the fall of 2020 at the University of Melbourne. My collaborators on this project included Wei Songting and Ai Kou. The project was selected to be featured in the 2020 online MSDX exhibition and was supervised by Professor Justyna Karakiewicz.