In the metropolis of Eastern Asia a new category of space is unfolding: dividual space. Consisting of commercial settings that are publicly used as private domestic environments, prices are comparatively low enough to turn these spaces into an integral part of public life. This paper takes the city of Tokyo as a study field to document the emergence of dividual space and to identify its main spatial characteristics.
The domestic qualities that Tokyo offers to accommodate urban nomadism are found not only at the interior and building scales (addressed in Part I and II, respectively) but also at the district scale. This paper examines this scale through the study of specific Tokyo districts, referred to here as Transit Urban Centers, by comparing and highlighting its differences with an urban configuration emerging in Tokyo through redevelopment projects. By means of this comparison, relevant conclusions for architectural and urban planning can be extracted in order to construct an alternative to gentrifying urbanism. This alternative relies upon the amplification of the concept of domesticity as a spatial quality at the interior, architectural and urban scales.
Since the Second World War, the urban fabric of Tokyo has been shaped by individual landownership and the proliferation of the detached house. For most Japanese architectural offices, domestic practice provides the mainstay of their work. This focus on the single private house, though, also limits the range of possibilities for urban interventions. Yoshiharu Tsukamoto of Atelier Bow‐Wow explains how through its development of ‘Void Metabolism’, the studio has been able to turn its focus on the residential into a positive, breaking down the barriers between private and shared space in the city.
Industrial urbanization disconnected city dwellers from direct access to natural resources. Consequently urban forests were introduced into cities for their aesthetic and environmental qualities, and are managed through the practice of urban forestry, which primarily focuses on maintenance services. However, emerging initiatives around the world are expanding the scope of urban forestry practice through the network generated by untapped forestry resources in the city. This study aims to clarify the potential of urban forestry for fostering citizens participation through resources accessibility, by comparing the network of different case studies based on the resources transformation and the members involvement.
The domestic qualities that Tokyo offers to accommodate urban nomadism are found not only at the interior scale of the dividual space studied in Part I, but also in urban exterior spaces. This paper examines the functional features of these exterior spaces, created by the aggregation of 'zakkyo buildings'. Both cases, interior and exterior are classified as 'content space' due to their commonalities. 'Content space' is presented as a valid design paradigm that, however, must be considered within its specific socio-cultural context, examined in this paper using the theory of liminality.
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