'osaka board game park' by TOFU architects, yuji tamai and kansai university urban design lab, osaka, japan
all images © yohei sasakura


a temporary installation in osaka, japan, the ‘osaka board game park’ was the result of a collaboration between
japanese architects TOFU, yuji tamai and the kansai university urban design lab, focusing on the use of public spaces.
although osaka’s transportation is historically canal-based, the waterfront is currently going through revitalization.
as part of the initiative, the art installation was in the osaka 2011 festival located at the east end of nakanoshima park.

focused on checkers, the project consisted of various scales of the board game integrated into the surrounding greenery.
to keep the project low cost, materials such as paper, cardboard, cloth, vinyl sheet flooring, wood tile,
stone and stainless steel were used. the sculptural forms of the checker board simultaneously functioned as a small play ground
as the visitors climbed and sat on the structures. the urban reimagining of the landscape was a demonstration of economically
sustainable ways to successfully enrich public spaces.



(left) game parts integrated into the surrounding greenery
(right) three dimentional checker boards
image © yohei sasakura



visitors interacting with the gmae pieces



the installation was part of a project focused on revitilizing the waterfront area
image © yohei sasakura



different scales of chess allows for reinterpretation of use
image © yohei sasakura



view of piece from above
image © yohei sasakura



the land was once used as a dock for ships
image © yohei sasakura