THE METAL-CLAD BUILDING IN KANSAI SCIENCE CITY EXEMPLIFIES A CHANGE IN JAPANESE OFFICE CULTURE

摘要

Tsukuba Science City in Japan began with a central government plan to move government employees out of Tokyo. There was also a vision of bringing together research, mainly public sector. After the intensive non-plan of Tokyo, it was a surprise to visit Tsukuba in the 1980s and find broad boulevards and a clear planning grid. As Tsukuba grows, Kansai Science City is also being developed. It fans out in 12 districts across 15, 000ha around Nara City, reaching into the prefectures of Tokyo and Osaka. Each district is intended to develop into a city in its own right. Kansai's avowed intent is to be a model 21st-century city fusing culture and scientific research, industry, academia and domestic life. The physical form is making progress, though a report by the European Institute of Japanese Studies describes how both Tsukuba and Kansai have yet to come together as vibrant, interconnected industrial and social communities.