urban design

MVRDV, working alongside co-architects StudioPOD, has completed construction of One Green Mile, transforming a series of neglected spaces below Mumbai’s Senapati Bapat Marg flyover. Turning an overbearing element of concrete infrastructure into a public space for the entire local community, the design adds much-needed amenities and greenery, improves mobility, and creates a strong visual identity for the area. On a broader scale, the design offers a repeatable approach to sustainable urban development that asserts a new benchmark for underused public spaces in the intense Indian metropolis.

Within the park, the grass had all but withered away, the walls were cracked and covered with graffiti, and the trees were malnourished. There was an abandoned three-story building along the western edge of the park and a still-active mosque in the southeast corner. Locals had to walk through the park to access the mosque and would frequently use the open field for rituals and religious activities when the interior was full. Since there were no proper walkways, undamaged seats, or ground covers, many people including children and the elderly had to pray on the coarse dirt. The narrow alleyways and open drains also caused the park and access roads to flood with sewage water during heavy rains, which made traversal difficult and unhygienic.

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west side and guarded by the mountain range Serra da Groba on the east side, the horizon esplanade was a “high-stoned” point in the middle of the coastal plain. The structure of the territory is visible in its section: the mountain comes down the human transformation throughout history: stone terraces. These terraces fold the topography showing the grey granite materiality.

As part of “THE TOKYO TOILET” Project, Kashiwa led the spatial design of a new restroom located outside the west entrance of Ebisu Station, as well as the pictograms used in all the restrooms designed for this project. Ebisu Station is a transfer station for the JR and metro lines. Its west exit is the location for the bus terminal and taxi stand, making it a popular meet-up spot and an area of heavy pedestrian traffic. This restroom was designed to be a recognizable landmark outside the exit that brings a bright and refreshing atmosphere to the area while remaining unobtrusive to daily commuters.

Roquetes is a neighborhood with a character marked by its peripheral location. Already climbing the Collserola mountain range, it contemplates the Barcelona plain below. The topography and the difficulty in providing primary services, such as sewerage or public transport, forged the union of its neighbors, whose fight for their rights kept going from the developmentalism in the dictatorship and the first years of democracy.

A pergola opens to the fields.