“A place of gathering where the spirit of the market lives on”

Branch Yokohama Nanbu Market opened in September 2019, at the location where it used to be Yokohama City Nanbu central wholesale market (Kanazawa ward) until March 2003. With the concept of a “living market for food – a hub for the interaction of people and the community through food”, the market houses some 30 tenants, including fish and vegetable speciality stores, “food outlet stores” selling local groceries at reasonable prices, hands-on facilities, an open café and a communal space. The location is hoped to attract people to the Kanazawa area.

In order to rescale the vastness of the old market down to a human scale, while retaining the feel of the original Yokohama Nanbu Market, we limited the materials used in the exterior to concrete, wooden pallets, and paint that would also have been used in the old market. By using combinations of wooden pallets for places where people access, such as signage and benches, we aimed to create a uniform feel of a market. We break up the long stretch of the place which would otherwise be monotonous by placing three open spaces, the lawn, the event space, and the entrance garden, and connecting them with two streets. Most of the grounds are uniformly concreted, and accentuated with graphics designed by “UMA/design farm”. The planting plan by Yoichiro Ishikawa of “TREEFORTE” is a key element to show the transformation from a market to a commercial facility, especially the entrance garden, which welcomes visitors and creates a place for them to be. The structures designed by “Open A” retains the feel of a market, yet the white colouring reflects the bright and fresh feel of Yokohama. The lighting plan provided by “Lighting Planners Associates” gives a warm glow to the place, which stands out from the rest of the bay area which is mostly lit in harsh industrial lighting.

We believe that the high quality of the integrated space was only achieved by the collaboration of experts in landscape, architecture, graphics, planting, and lighting.

Data

Landscape Architecture: STGK
Other designers involved in the design of landscape (architects and landscape architects):
– Architect: Showa Sekkei
– Architectural design supervision: Open A
– Planting design: TREEFORTE
– Lighting design: Lighting Planners Associates (LPA)
– Glaphic & Sign design: UMA/design farm
Project location: Yokohama, Japan
Design year: 2017-2019
Year Built: 2019
Client: Daiwa Lease
Site area: 34,719m2
Photography: Takahiro Shimizu