by Marco Corbella Italy (architect, Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm, Inc.)

As I was born in Turin, Italy, and I’m living and working in Tokyo, I feel lucky I could go back home in 2008 to see the UIA Congress and now I just have to wait that 2011 comes bringing another one to my doorsteps.

Tokyo is not Japan, but it’s still a bit chunk of it.

Being the biggest concentration of people, activities and business in the largest Japanese metropolitan area of urban and suburban space, Tokyo is like the biggest tome among a series of encyclopedia books about Japan. Go to “A” for “amusement” and you’ll get plenty of hot spots for local underground culture as well as un-local Disney parks.

Go on scrolling and under “architecture” you’ll find clever and conceptually interesting contemporary houses (that shine like jewels amidst an ocean of prefab houses scattered around like LEGO blocks), breathtaking traditions, bits of Le Corbusier works, and the myriad of hybrid buildings and “pet architecture” so well analyzed by Atelier Bow-Wow. The funny thing is that no matter how long and deep you search, there will always be some new “meaning” to discover: are you thinking you can imagine the space of the sewers of Tokyo? Search for “Tokyo Underground” on the blog “WHAT WE DO IS SECRET” to discover how advanced engineering combines with Japanese precision to produce what the blog’s author calls “awesome beauty”.

To use another paradigm, Tokyo doesn’t escape the rule of our universe’s physics where space is warped and “past, present and future” are just convenient terms to describe an overlapping time continuum. This city is a small universe with each part expressing a different timeline in motion. The result is a vibrant and fertile environment for art, design and architecture, which is supported by a jungle of publishing media (a paradise that allows you to “read-all-you-can” for free at any bookshop!!!) and design festivals like 100% Design Tokyo. Just think that the “Pecha Kucha Night” format, now sweeping all over the globe, started right here in Tokyo.

Tokyo and Turin seem to be at the opposite ends of the spectrum of urban planning, yet now I feel these two completely different cities are somehow beginning to come closer to each other: Turin broke the immobility of its architectural heritage and learnt how to change, Tokyo never stops changing but it’s also learning how to keep things of value.

The actual trend of re-use, re-design, re-qualify space and architecture was unimaginable only a few years ago and citizens’ direct participation to this process is also slowly growing.

Tokyo is truly a Japanese city and also an international one as Turin is now becoming. I felt 10 times more proud of Turin in 2008 than when I left for Tokyo 10 years ago. Now I want to be 10 times more proud of Tokyo too, after the next UIA congress.