City under the Ground

Unlocking underground potential – leveraging the potential of comprehensive, three-dimensional consideration of the public realm. Developable land is notoriously sparse in Japan, a fact that has fueled the development and utilization of underground spaces in cities since the late 1960s. Today, urban areas in Japan enjoy excellent connectivity between the station and surrounding neighborhoods, utilizing the subterranean space. The Nikken Group has been associated with and influenced the technical and physical design of Japan’s major underground spaces over the last 50 years, creating a unique body of experience. This is described in the chapter “SUBTERRANEAN SPACES” of the book “NIKKEN SEKKEI URBANISM”.

Design of underground space in Japan started in 1950s. It was a period of high economic growth, when significant investments were invested in upgrading the urban infrastructure, such as roads and car parks to enhance the quality of life and to try to resolve serious problems with traffic jams and deteriorating air quality.

The spaces underneath our cities have potential beyond housing technical infrastructure and car parks. Populating underground spaces with commercial uses and integrating them into the circulation routes for pedestrians leads to a better-connected and safer city. Innovative design process produces comprehensive, three-dimensional design solutions which create synergies for the public realm.

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Materials provided by Nikken Sekkei