Tokyo Big Sight (東京国際展示場) by Shimizu corporation or Sato Sogo ( 株式会社佐藤総合計画)

This is difficult to describe. I mean we went there for the Tokyo Toys fair in order to see and admire the japanese advanced technologies applicated for children. It was obviously crowded despite that we had the chance to enjoy it, and had even some relaxed time at the end. At 4 p.m., closed time, my son and me played soccer with an inflated ballon over a green carpet that was on the main area at the first floor. Few minutes before there were thousands of people watching the show of “kawai” monsters and robots who greeted the onlookers.

I have been at Tokyo big sight (the japanese wikipedia voice is more comprehensive) other times but this was the first time I appreciated the project. Other times I was concerned about his greatness. Although those my instinctive architectural concerns, yesterday I found a point of view where the whole project came to be seen from another dimension. This just thanks to my child who lost the balloon in a little water-mirror-like garden.

Better pictures than mine can be found in this blog by mr. Micheal John Grist.

This guy went to an exhibition of interiours. He took a nice picture in the night of the entrance Arc.

Here at least one nice shot of the interior connection between pavilions.

Somebody on yahoo answers says this is the Architect who designed and I found another link that lists his major works from the Japanese Institut for Health Care Architecture.

Here the analogies with the centre Pompidou.

From here you can have a sense of what is Odaiba scenario today. It is an artificial island, previously envisaged than realized.

Although wikipedia assign the project to mr. Sato Sogo (株式会社佐藤総合計画 ) it seems weird there aren’t many references to him, because this is a hughe project, actually a landmark for Odaiba if not for Tokyo. It has been finished only in 1996.

If you are curious you may want to look to this questionnable project called Koko plaza, in Oosaka (大阪市東淀川区東中島1-13-13 ) where some aesthetic solutions are similar to the major Tokyo big sight. Hetgallery is a magazine for architectural works in Oosaka, (i.e. Ando is from Oosaka)

Last this interesting architectural photo hunter, has a tremendous archive of japanese buildings.