私たちの手掛けた、＜都市景観デザイン＞　[歴史的水路「御殿堰」の再生]がこのたび、グッドデザイン賞２０２１を受賞しました。→グッドデザイン賞HP

We are pleased to announce that our project “Urban Landscape Design: Regeneration of the Historic Waterway ‘Goten-zeki'” has received the Good Design Award 2021. You can find more information on the Good Design Award website.

昨年受賞の「山形県税理士会館」の西側を含む一帯の、歴史的疎水「御殿堰」に対し、山形市が実施した都市景観整備事業で、その官民の垣根を越えたまちづくりの試みを評価していただけたのではないかを思っています。

This project, carried out by the city of Yamagata, encompasses the historic waterway “Goten-zeki,” which includes the western side of last year’s award-winning “Yamagata Prefectural Tax Accountants Association Building.” We believe this recognition is due to the collaborative efforts between public and private sectors in town planning.

おかげさまで、２０１９年の「六日町の町屋」から３年連続の受賞となりました。

Thanks to everyone’s support, this marks the third consecutive year we have received an award, following the “Rokkamachi Machiya” project in 2019.

事業主、施工者、関係者各位、ご協力いただいた市民の皆さん、主催者、審査員の先生方に感謝申し上げます。

We are grateful to the project owners, contractors, stakeholders, citizens, organizers, and the judges for their contributions.

For those interested in learning more about the project, please visit the “Goten-seki Revival Plan” page within our website.

HP内リンク「御殿堰整備計画」（プロジェクトのページ）

For those interested in learning more about the project, please visit the “Goten-seki Revival Plan” page within our website.

以下、関連するブログです。より詳しくプロジェクトについてお知りになりたい方はご覧ください。タイトルをクリックすると本文が表示されます。

For further details about this project, you can explore the related blog posts. Click on the titles to read more.

竣工・御殿堰景観整備

御殿堰景観整備計画

歴史的水路「御殿堰」の再生 GOOD DESIGN 2021 受賞記念展示

山形県税理士会館がグッドデザイン賞を受賞しました

六日町の町屋がGOOD DESIGN ２０１９を受賞しました

 

以下、グッドデザイン賞のホームページに掲載された基本データです。

Here is the basic data as posted on the Good Design Award website.

受賞対象　　　　都市景観デザイン  [歴史的水路「御殿堰」の再生]

受賞企業　　　　空間芸術研究所　代表　矢野英裕

事業主体　　　　山形市

プロデューサー　山形市長　佐藤孝弘

ディレクター　　大洋測量設計社　升川俊雄

デザイナー　　　空間芸術研究所　矢野英裕

Award Category: Urban Landscape Design [Regeneration of Historical Waterway “Goten-zeki”]

Recipient Company: vectorfield architects, represented by Hidehiro Yano

Project Executor: City of Yamagata

Producer: Mayor of Yamagata, Takahiro Sato

Director: Taiyo Survey and Design Corporation, Toshio Masukawa

Designer: vectorfield architects, Hidehiro Yano

＜概要＞

デザイナーはかつて「山形県税理士会館」の設計の中で親水広場をつくり、隠されていた歴史的水路「御殿堰」の存在を浮かび上がらせた。以前より山形五堰を生かしたまちづくりを目指していた山形市がその試みに共鳴し、その一帯の御殿堰を歴史的な意匠を参照しつつ景観整備し、市民や観光客に山形市の歴史をより深く知ってもらえるよう工夫した。

Summary:

The designer previously created a waterside plaza and revealed the existence of the hidden historical waterway, “Goten-zeki,” during the design of the “Yamagata Prefecture Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Association Building.” Yamagata City, which had long aimed for urban development utilizing the Yamagata Goseki, resonated with this initiative. They embarked on a landscape improvement project, drawing upon the historical design of the Goten-zeki in that area. Their goal was to deepen the understanding of Yamagata City’s history among its citizens and tourists.

＜デザインが生まれた理由・背景＞

2017年12月に竣工した山形県税理士会館では、それまで建物の間に挟まれていて気づかれることのなかった歴史的水路「御殿堰」を顕在化させながら設計に取り込み、建物の大庇の架かった縁側空間と連続するように親水広場を水路に面して設けた。その時は敷地境界ぎりぎりまで計画したものの、山形市と水利組合の管理する御殿堰自体には手を加えることはできず、戦後コンクリートで塗り込められた殺風景な護岸などはそのまま残すしかなかった。会館の関係者側から特に働きかけた訳ではなかったが、竣工から一年以上が経過したある日、以前から市内を網の目のように流れている歴史的水路「山形五堰」（御殿堰はその一つ）の景観整備に力を入れていた山形市から、国からの補助も得て税理士会館前を含む御殿堰の景観整備を事業化できる運びとなったので、会館の設計者に協力してほしいとの話があり、全体監修とランドスケープデザインを担当することとなった。

Reasons and Background for the Design:

In December 2017, the Yamagata Prefecture  Tax Accountants’ Association Building was completed. During the design phase of this building, they aimed to bring attention to the historical waterway, “Goten-zeki,” which had previously been sandwiched between other buildings, largely unnoticed. They incorporated this waterway into the design, creating a waterside plaza adjacent to the building’s large eaves, which faced the waterway. Although they had originally planned to extend the design to the property boundaries, they were unable to make any alterations to the Goten-zeki, managed by Yamagata City and the irrigation association. The drab concrete embankments added after the WW-Ⅱ remained unchanged. There was no specific request from the building’s stakeholders. However, more than a year after completion, Yamagata City, which had been focusing on the landscape improvement of historical waterways throughout the city, including the Goten-zeki, received government funding and decided to implement a landscaping project for the Goten-zeki, including the area in front of the tax accountants’ building. They approached the original designer to provide assistance in this project, leading to their involvement in overall supervision and landscape design.

＜デザインを実現した経緯とその成果＞

土木設計を行う大洋測量設計社と空間デザインを手掛ける空間芸術研究所が共同で山形市と協議を行いながら進めた。従来の御殿堰はコンクリートで塗り固められて歴史的な外観を失っていた。近隣との権利関係もあって完全な復元は不可能なので、擁壁上から蔵王山系の安山岩の玉石を貼るような形で歴史的な意匠を尊重した再生を試みた。御殿堰は灌漑用水路でありかつ都市雨水も流入するので慎重に流量計算をした上で断面や高低差の設定を行い、流水量が減少した場合でも水を湛えた表情を維持できるよう堰堤を設けた。建物の設計の際には制限されていた親水広場の計画も、市と税理士会が協定を結ぶことで境界を超えたデザインとすることができた。歩道際の無粋な既存安全柵は撤去し、透過性の高いガラスの手摺をつけた見学デッキを水路上に設けることで、道行く人々がこの歴史的遺構と対話できる場所とし、さらに御殿堰の成り立ちを記した和英併記の案内板を設けた。

The Process of Realizing the Design and Its Achievements:

The project was a collaborative effort between Taiyo Sokuryo Sekkei-sha, which handles civil engineering design, and Kukan Geijutsu Kenkyusho(vectorfield architects), a spatial design firm, in consultation with Yamagata City. The existing Goten-zeki had been concreted over, losing its historical appearance. Due to property rights issues with neighboring properties, a complete restoration was not feasible. Therefore, they attempted a revitalization respecting the historical design by adhering stone masonry with volcanic rocks from the Zao mountain range on the retaining wall. Since the Goten-zeki serves as an irrigation watercourse and also receives urban rainwater runoff, careful flow calculations were conducted to set cross-sections and elevations, ensuring that even in cases of reduced flow, the waterway would maintain a filled appearance.

Regarding the design of the building, the initially restricted waterside plaza plan was expanded beyond the boundaries due to an agreement reached between the city and the tax accountants’ association. They removed the unsightly existing safety fence along the sidewalk, replaced it with a highly transparent glass railing on a viewing deck over the waterway, providing a space for passersby to engage with this historical site. Additionally, bilingual information boards were installed to explain the origins of the Goten-zeki.

＜審査員の評価＞

2017年12月に竣工した山形県税理士会館の建替えにあたり、街の中に埋没していた歴史的水路「御殿堰」の存在を親水広場とともに顕在化した。ただし、戦後にコンクリートでつくり替えられた無粋な水路そのものには手を加えることができなかった。その後、歴史的水路の景観整備を検討していた山形市から、「御殿堰」の整備を税理士会館と同じ設計者に協力してほしいとの依頼があり、ついに歴史的水路の景観が復旧することになる。温暖化の影響による気候変動が自然災害を拡大させているが、その根源には急激な都市化によって人と水との関係が希薄になっていることが指摘されている。地域独自の価値を取り戻すためには、本プロジェクトのように身近な生活の中に水の存在を再生することが大切だ。街なかの水路復旧という小さな取り組みが、市内のあるいは国内の大きな流れにつながることを期待してやまない。

The judges’ evaluation is as follows:

In the redevelopment of the Yamagata Prefectural Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Association building, completed in December 2017, the historical watercourse “Goten-zeki,” which had been buried within the city, was brought to the forefront, along with a waterside plaza. However, it was not possible to make any alterations to the uninspiring concrete watercourse that had been reconstructed after the war. Subsequently, the city of Yamagata, which had been considering the beautification of this historical watercourse, requested that the same designers involved in the Tax Accountants’ Association building project collaborate on the revitalization of “Goten-zeki.” Finally, the historical watercourse’s scenery was restored.

Climate change, driven by the impacts of global warming, is exacerbating natural disasters. It has been pointed out that the root cause of this lies in the diminishing connection between people and water due to rapid urbanization. To reclaim the unique value of the region, it is essential to revitalize the presence of water in our everyday lives, as demonstrated in this project. We hope that small efforts like the restoration of urban waterways will contribute to broader trends within the city and even nationally.

（このブログの写真はすべて、小川重雄さんの撮影です。）

(All photos in this blog are taken by Mr. Shigeo Ogawa.)