Makuhari Messe I
Tokyo, Japan · 1989
An aerial precedent demonstrating Fumihiko Maki's master planning of Makuhari Messe, showcasing how massive exhibition halls with expressive, curved metal roofs can be integrated into a cohesive, large-scale urban campus.
- What we like about this project
- The dramatic, saddle-like curve of the foreground hall's roof which contrasts with the barrel vaults behind it.
Materials
- metal-roofing
- concrete
- glass
- asphalt
Visual identifiers
- curved-roof
- exhibition-hall
- dome-structure
- aerial-view
- urban-campus
Style tags
- high-tech
- modernist
- structural-expressionism
Visual tags
- mega-structure
- civic-architecture
- high-tech
- urban-planning
- metal-cladding
- Geometry
- A composition of large-scale, low-slung volumes featuring sweeping curved roofs, vaulted canopies, and a prominent dome structure, organized along a linear spine.
- Facade system
- Metal panel cladding combined with ribbon glazing and structural steel framing.
- Structural guess
- Long-span steel trusses and space frames supporting lightweight metal roofs.
- Spatial scale
- Mega-scale civic infrastructure spanning several city blocks, designed for international exhibitions and conventions.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp, elongated shadows that accentuate the curved profiles of the roofs.
- Atmosphere
- A highly organized, futuristic, and monumental civic landscape under clear daylight.
- Environmental context
- An expansive coastal reclamation zone or planned urban district, bordered by a canal, railway lines, and wide arterial roads.
- Spatial experience
- The vast scale of the exhibition halls creates a monumental urban campus, where sweeping rooflines define the skyline and wide plazas facilitate massive pedestrian flow.
- Composition rhythm
- A series of long, parallel exhibition halls balanced by a central dome and contrasting vertical office towers.
- Style reading
- Japanese High-Tech Modernism
- Program
- Exhibition and convention center
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- metal-roofing, concrete, glass, asphalt
- Visual identifiers
- curved-roof, exhibition-hall, dome-structure, aerial-view, urban-campus
- Style tags
- high-tech, modernist, structural-expressionism
- Visual tags
- mega-structure, civic-architecture, high-tech, urban-planning, metal-cladding
- Geometry
- A composition of large-scale, low-slung volumes featuring sweeping curved roofs, vaulted canopies, and a prominent dome structure, organized along a linear spine.
- Facade system
- Metal panel cladding combined with ribbon glazing and structural steel framing.
- Structural guess
- Long-span steel trusses and space frames supporting lightweight metal roofs.
- Spatial scale
- Mega-scale civic infrastructure spanning several city blocks, designed for international exhibitions and conventions.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp, elongated shadows that accentuate the curved profiles of the roofs.
- Atmosphere
- A highly organized, futuristic, and monumental civic landscape under clear daylight.
- Environmental context
- An expansive coastal reclamation zone or planned urban district, bordered by a canal, railway lines, and wide arterial roads.
- Spatial experience
- The vast scale of the exhibition halls creates a monumental urban campus, where sweeping rooflines define the skyline and wide plazas facilitate massive pedestrian flow.
- Composition rhythm
- A series of long, parallel exhibition halls balanced by a central dome and contrasting vertical office towers.
- Style reading
- Japanese High-Tech Modernism
- Program
- Exhibition and convention center
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture