cody ellingham’s latest photographic project ‘danchi dreams’ explores large japanese public housing blocks known as ‘danchi’ (jap. ‘group land’) over the past year. danchi emerged across japan in the 1960s to cope with rapidly growing urban populations.


toshima gochome danchi across the sumida river

 

 

from 3- and 4-story buildings on the edges of cities to massive clusters of 15-story blocks complete with schools, shops, and playgrounds, the concrete communities of danchi replaced the wood and dirt of old japan. danchi were not just housing projects but were a dream for many, something to aspire to.

 

 

the houses were a vision of a harmonious life and japan’s newfound prosperity. half a century later danchi are in decay — the concrete symbol of japan’s economic miracle and post-war identity are slowly being forgotten and some are already gone.


kawaramachi danchi

 

 

photographing them at night, ellingham captures the danchi at the time of dreams. visiting over 40 complexes, he observes both the signature of decline and also the promise of that original dream however slight. more ellingham’s works can be seen on his instagram page.


shirahige danchi


nakanoshima tamagawa danchi


shibazono danchi


toshima gochome danchi


hirao danchi


kawaramachi danchi


toei koenji apartments


aoyama kitamachi danchi

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: maria erman | designboom

Cody Ellingham
mar 12, 2018

    have something to add? share your thoughts in our comments section below.

    comments policy
    LOG IN
    designboom's comment policy guidelines
    generally speaking, if we publish something, it's because we're genuinely interested in the subject. we hope you'll share this interest and if you know even more about it, please share! our goal in the discussion threads is to have good conversation and we prefer constructive opinions. we and our readers have fun with entertaining ones. designboom welcomes alerts about typos, incorrect names, and the like.
    the correction is at the discretion of the post editor and may not happen immediately.

    what if you disagree with what we or another commenter has to say?
    let's hear it! but please understand that offensive, inappropriate, or just plain annoying comments may be deleted or shortened.

    - please do not make racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic or otherwise offensive comments.
    - please don't personally insult the writers or your fellow commenters.
    - please avoid using offensive words, replacing a few letters with asterisks is not a valid workaround.
    - please don't include your website or e-mail address in your comments for the purpose of self-promotion.
    - please respect jury verdicts and do not discuss offensively on the competition results
    (there is only one fist prize, and designboom usually asks renown professionals to help us to promote talent.
    in addition to the awarded designs, we do feel that almost all deserve our attention, that is why we publish
    the best 100-200 entries too.)

    a link is allowed in comments as long as they add value in the form of information, images, humor, etc. (links to the front page of your personal blog or website are not okay). unwelcome links (to commercial products or services of others, offensive material etc. ) will be redacted. and, ... yes, spam gets banned. no, we do not post fake comments.

    forgot password

    (138 articles)

    PRODUCT LIBRARY

    a diverse digital database that acts as a valuable guide in gaining insight and information about a product directly from the manufacturer, and serves as a rich reference point in developing a project or scheme.

    art news

    all art news