Changes in common areas of condominiums in Sapporo

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many Asian countries are experiencing rapid urbanization. Japan is no exception, and urbanization is progressing in many regions. This study focuses on condominiums that have supported Japan’s urbanization and captures the evolution of their common areas. We target condominiums built in Sapporo City and analyze changes over a 40-year period based on data books and pamphlet drawings. The survey results revealed the following four points: 1) We determined the trends of the reduction in site and building areas and the move to an increase in number of floors. 2) In recent years, the installation rates of various common facilities, such as storage rooms, have increased. 3) We observed that the separation between public and private became clear with the progress of common facilities that had been moved indoors and outdoors, and in particular, the progressing trend of consolidating common facilities on the first floor of residential buildings. 4) We ascertained that, accompanying the consolidation of common facilities on the first floor, the number of flow lines from the inside to common facilities such as “parking lots” increased, where the original relationship with the outside in particular had been enhanced.