newitalianblood

The transformation of the umeda cargo station is more thought as a very large building rather than an urban design. The 24-ha of the area in question is close to osaka station, where 2.5 million passengers are passing through daily. Through volumetric 3D transformations, the dynamic layout of the existing cargo stations train tracks are altered spatially. The resulting volume stretches like “fingers” towards osaka station creating a single architectural shape divided by roads and public spaces and densified through the placement of three multiuse towers at its southern edge. The resulting “urban island” will connect to Osaka station via a diversely spaced new public plazas. The triple towers act as a vertical analogy to the more horizontal structures and provide an iconographic image for the new city quarter. (Team: Mark Mückenheim, Omar Mansour)