Tokyo Story

Urban prototypes are engines of change, instruments of new urban form. They are organisational structures, at the same time adaptable to specific environments and stable in their organisational form. In the Tokyo Story existing prototypes are imported in order to test their adaptability of organisational form in a different environment. By unfolding in space and time they touch upon a variety of operational fields and interweave them in a new way. They become urban prototypes by restructuring existing urban phenomena into new conditions and by that introduce another concept in a certain context. The prototype responds to four layers of action: Incorporation: Linking of the prototype processing to existing operational frameworks, like institutions, legal conditions etc.

Branding: Operation and means of communicating the prototype on a large scale; naming and identity formation.

Earth: Necessary and emergent physical transformation in the process of prototype formation.

Flow: Embedding in existing flows, like money flow or traffic flow, the deviation of those flows and potentially creation of new flows.

Incorporation: Linking of the prototype processing to existing operational frameworks, like institutions, legal conditions etc.