Curating the Interstice: Exploiting the Urban Gap Phenomenon in Kobe, Japan

Abstract

This project is inspired by urban phenomena in Japan, particularly those conditions that result from a rapidly changing urban form. One of the most significant effects of this rapid rate of change is the presence of gaps in the urban fabric. This thesis engages with the gaps in the Sakaemachi neighborhood of central Kobe as representative spaces of change, addressing the issues of temporality, questioning the void as a negative space, and offering a proposal to exploit the gap. This project envisions Sakaemachi's gaps as a collection to be curated, creating an infrastructure that supports this network of gaps as an `art site', filling them with temporary site-specific installations and inviting the public to transgress the void.