a temporary decade
(2018)
short film
tokyo, japan
narrator: matthew criley
short film
tokyo, japan
narrator: matthew criley
As part of a larger redevelopment plan for the area,
Shibuya Station, the transit outlet to the world-famous Shibuya Crossing, has
been under construction for the past decade in hopes of higher efficiency and
improved navigation for its daily 2.4 million passengers. Accommodating two
private railways with a subway totaling nine lines throughout five floors, the
rerouting of users is an equally weighted design undertaking as is the
construction itself.
The temporary plastic walls lined with cautionary green tape corrals speed-walkers to their platforms—within several uses one becomes accustomed to the sharp turns, sudden fluorescently blasted low height tunnels and metal stairways leading you up and down and up again…
The most interesting aspect is what’s hidden behind these thin barriers. As passengers are taken through meandering reroutes, they’re also lead through many landscapes of noise signaling various stages of work. The cacophony of hammers, drills, shouting, footsteps, clanking, and phone tones overwhelm in the confines of the maze—the sounds are present but there is no vision to accompany them making the experience all the more surreal.
“The detours are expected, so I can’t mind them”
“The smell is…well…”
“The sights aren’t bad, either.”
“But…the sound.”
The temporary plastic walls lined with cautionary green tape corrals speed-walkers to their platforms—within several uses one becomes accustomed to the sharp turns, sudden fluorescently blasted low height tunnels and metal stairways leading you up and down and up again…
The most interesting aspect is what’s hidden behind these thin barriers. As passengers are taken through meandering reroutes, they’re also lead through many landscapes of noise signaling various stages of work. The cacophony of hammers, drills, shouting, footsteps, clanking, and phone tones overwhelm in the confines of the maze—the sounds are present but there is no vision to accompany them making the experience all the more surreal.
“The detours are expected, so I can’t mind them”
“The smell is…well…”
“The sights aren’t bad, either.”
“But…the sound.”