A Village in Japan - High Technology within Nature
This is a public complex located deep in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture,
a prefecture located in central Japan.
Bordering the least densely populated village in Japan, the population of
this village is only 750 people. However, people of this village are blessed
with beautiful water and mountains, and plan and participate in various
festivals and events of their own. Their daily activities are full of vitality,
and they live a "wealthy" life.
This Japan is completely different from the urban Tokyo area I have been
creating architecture for. It possesses the image of a "hometown"
which many Japanese still hold.
However, even though the image of a hometown has not changed, in reality
the hometown itself is not the same as before. Even in this area of beautiful
rivers and green valleys, which do not exhibit any manifestations of change,
optical fiber has arrived and high-vision, large-screen televisions illuminate
the night.
The people enjoy a comfortable life through the use of high technology
within their beautiful natural surroundings.
This is the future life that people in modern cities dream of.
In this way, the image of a "lost hometown" overlaps with the
image of the "still distant future."
