Atsushi Kitagawara and ILCD 1992
The traffic island at this junction of three streets is just large enough to house a tiny police box. The project is one of the initiatives of the Metropolitan Police Office, which is concerned to present a more cultural and friendly face to the citizens of Tokyo. The result is a series of lively designs and small-scale post-modern follies by up-and-coming architects scattered across the city.
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Atsushi Kitagawara and ILCD 1992
Down to page [NCSA Mosaic users only]
Atsushi Kitagawara and ILCD 1992
The role of the neighbourhood police box is described by the architect as 'like an eye in the midst of the city continually recording data.' Thus Kitagawara's design draws on the idea of a 'continuous protective gaze', implying there is an invisible world behind the eye, the backing and authority of the state.
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Atsushi Kitagawara and ILCD 1992
Down to page [NCSA Mosaic users only]
Atsushi Kitagawara and ILCD 1992
On one side of the building, steel-expanded metal cylinders are piled up to shelter an ovoid inner room of translucent glass which contains a spiral staircase. The other half of the building is very different: a red curved wall and a blue-painted steel frame with a glass and yellow cement wall are inserted into a severe concrete structural frame.
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