2 JAPANESE CULTURE BALANCES NATURE WITH URBAN DEVELOPMENT On a recent trip to Japan I began in bustling, urban Tokyo and ended up walking the Kumano Kodo through pine tree forests surrounded by nature. But I found that Japanese culture has always balanced nature and the urban. In Tokyo the beautiful gardens that surround the Imperial Palace are an important balance to the hectic bustle of the city. In Kyoto the gardens surrounding the Art Museum or the tree lined canals in the Gion district calmed the urban character. A little outside of the centre of Kyoto the incredible Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple has a series of vermillion coloured colonnades that wind through the pine forest. Trainee Geisha girls parade through these man-made landscapes that reimagine the surrounding natural forest. At Nara deer wander through the parklands that surround the important buildings that once defined Nara as Japan’s capital. I also spent time visiting the display houses of Sekisui House outside Tokyo and their display apartments in Osaka and in both cases it was the blending of nature into the built environment that stands out. Display houses are very open plan with large double glazed windows that connect to idyllic landscapes. Sekisui House has an Eco First Park where they have built a House of Wind, a House of Wood and a House of Tomorrow. These houses breathe and incorporate minature gardens and are filled with warm timber along with tatami mats. Nearby is a resource recycling factory where every item from demolished buildings is carefully disected and reduced to recyclable components. But it is the systematic approach to building that Australian building construction can learn from. The post world war 2 automobile production lines have flowed into housing production lines with very precise frames, panels and claddings. At the Dream Factory outside Tokyo I sat through a simulated 7.5 earthquake and then did the same but cushioned by the Sekisui flexible earthquake minimisation system to see how their construction reduces risk. This approach to testing goes to fire and wear and tear to ensure that building systems are fit for purpose. There are many things Australia can learn from Japan in the development of their cities. There is an incredible number of metro style train lines through Tokyo supplemented by an efficient bus service. There is the prefabricated building system with its attention to detail and there is the balance of urban form and nature. Australian cities are close to Japan with a time difference of only two hours. While Japan’s population at 180 million is well above Australia’s it is predicted to drop to around 120 million in 40 years time. This will clearly have implications for the amount of new housing needed and Japan is now discussing options around this. The main lesson from Japan is how urban cities are evolving with their major focus on turn up and go metro rail networks supported by apartment buildings in mixed use precincts. There is a efficiency to the use of space and of how people can move across metropolitan areas. At the inter-city scale this is symbolised by the Shinkansen Bullet train as it glides across the Japanese landscape at an incredible speed. Urban Taskforce is keen to have responses for this issue of URBAN IDEAS and we welcome comments to: admin@urbantaskforce.com.au Chris Johnson AM Chief Executive Officer Urban Taskforce Australia