PROJECT: Tama Forest National Park Study

LOCATION: Tokyo, Japan

DATE: 1993

The Tama Forest project was set up by a Tokyo-based group responsible for regenerating the area, one of which was suffering from depopulation due to lack of employment opportunities.

The study led to a suggestion that new woodland industries might be encouraged alongside leisure uses. An additional aim was to provide sustainable materials for new construction in forested areas. As well as increasing employment, this was meant to encourage a more responsible attitude towards the landscape. Four masterplans were based on the celebration of the particulars of each site, rather than the conventional Japanese progressive standardisation of each development.