On Landscape and Building Control under the ′Nagasaki Urban Design System′

Abstract

The most common approach to urban control in Japan consists in setting standards by subdividing items and giving approvals only if they are met. Starting from 2000, a discretionary approach to urban control, which takes account of integrating different items and of overall harmony, has been operated in Nagasaki Prefecture. The framework, which is rare in Japan, only covers localized areas surrounding Nagasaki Port. The controlling authority, organized by Japan′s leading professionals, is tasked with screening and giving advice to projects for building structures in the Nagasaki Port areas. Our study has found that architects have benefitted from the framework by gaining access to beneficial advice and being awarded prizes for their works, while at the same time they have also been disadvantaged by complicated procedures and increased labor. Our findings indicate a need for creating opportunities to allow both the urban design experts and the architects to have dialogue on an equal footing and setting the design fees at levels that would justify the efforts on the part of architects in holding talks and negotiations with the advisers.