Jon Jerde in Japan: Designing the Spaces Between [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Cathie Gandel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2000

Jon Jerde in Japan tells the story of the unlikely collaboration of a daring Japanese real estate developer and a freewheeling American architect in the making of the largest private real estate development in Japan: Canal City Hakata, the most important work to date by one of America's most controversial architects, Jon Jerde.?

When Japanese developer Fukuoka Jisho bought a nine-acre site in the distressed center of Fukuoka, they were determined to build a project that would revive the city's heart; to that end, they called on the Jerde Partnership. Bound by this common vision, Fukuoka Jisho and the Jerde Partnership negotiated language and cultural differences, one of Japan's worst economic recessions, and numerous redesigns in a co-creative process that yielded a unique outcome.?

Colorful and spirited, the project defies Japanese rules for retail development, yet Canal City has had over 30 million visitors since its 1996 opening, attracting teenagers and businesspeople alike. It is considered one of the most important architectural works of the twentieth century. Uniquely contextual yet defiantly flamboyant, Canal City Hakata serves as a model of true creative collaboration and shows what can happen when two cultures joyfully collide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The two most important projects of the late twentieth century are the Museum of Art in Bilbao, Spain by Frank Gehry and Canal City Hakata by the Jerde Partnership."

-- Arata Isozaki, architect

About the Author

Cathie Gandel is a journalist whose work has been published in Asian Property (the journal of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan), Winds (the magazine of Japan Air Lines), Nikkei Weekly, and the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (June 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890449067
• ISBN-13: 978-1890449063
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,609,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, September 2, 2000

By 

Catherine I. Gandel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jon Jerde in Japan: Designing the Spaces Between (Hardcover)

JON JERDE IN JAPAN: Designing the Spaces Between

I highly recommend Jon Jerde in Japan: Designing the Spaces Between by Cathie Gandel (Balcony Press, Glendale, CA, 2000) for anyone interested in public architecture; working with the Japanese; and the thinking behind the best in today's mixed-use developments. Ms. Gandel has produced a highly readable book that makes sophisticated concepts accessible to the lay person while providing meaty material for the professional.

Wonderfully produced on good quality, high gloss stock, the book is chock full of illustrative material that effectively conveys the excitement of Fukuoka's Canal City Hakata. Readers do not have to puzzle over the term "wiggle wall" or strain to imagine what the "wayfinding sculptures" might look like. They can see them clearly in both the wide angle and detail shots.

Jon Jerde in Japan starts with the project's genesis in 1977 as the first mixed-use development outside one of Japan's major cities, takes it through opening day in 1996 and concludes with an analysis of its amazing popularity-over 43 million visitors to date! It also traces the development of architect Jon Jerde and his deepening commitment to creating original spaces that add something valuable to the human experience. As Cathie Gandel wrote of Canal City Hakata:

A visitor writes his or her script not only by choosing where to shop and where to eat, but also by choosing whether to see a movie, play a video game or have a drink in the Grand Hyatt lounge; walk under the overhang or out in the open; sit, stand and watch, or wander; jump in surprise at the champagne cork-popping noise of the fountains or wade into the tidal pool. Whatever the decision, the visitor is writer and actor as well as audience."

I have had such a satisfying time just reading about this "urban theater," I can only wonder what it must be like to experience it in person. This book made me want to do just that.

Barbara Greenleaf, Santa Barbara, California