Random Snap: Ned Bunnell

Ned Bunnell, Repurposed baseball stadium, Osaka, Japan, 1991

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Mike
(Original here. Thanks to Ned.)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Peter Gilbert: "I believe this came about as a direct result of the major earthquake that struck the Osaka-Kobe region in the first part of the 1990s (I was in Japan the, but I can't remember the date offhand). So many houses were destroyed the authorities set up 'temporary' housing like what you see in this photo. But, the people relocated to these areas became close neighbors and resisted being resettled to permanent new housing."

Hudson: "Did some Goggling and found the story. The team was sold and moved to another city. The stadium was used to display model homes. It has since been torn down and replaced with a mall."

Mike replies: Figures. I like Peter's vision better—a tiny, quirky, but close micro-community in a little bubble inside the big city. Sigh.

Peter Gilbert adds: "On closer inspection I see Ned's image was shot in 1991, before the great Hanshin earthquake that I mentioned (which occurred in 1995), so although my previous comments about folks being relocated then resisting relocation are  true in general, this situation at the old Osaka stadium is obviously not one of those. Apologies for the error."

Ned Bunnell: "To provide some context for this photo, Osaka stadium was home to the Nankai Hawks baseball team. I remember the Hawks name because I bought caps for my boys and they were quite the curiosity item with all their friends. The Hawks were sold and moved to Fukuoka City in 1988 or 1989. Since the stadium was abandoned, the City of Osaka, working with a trade group, turned it into a giant outdoor home show with rows of various model homes from several construction companies.

"If I remember correctly, the houses were a failure, as most Japanese in the greater Osaka area were not interested in western style housing and the quality of construction was not up to their expectations. I think the stadium was finally demolished in the late '90s."

Comments

[Ken in Oregon]

The ultimate gated community!

[Gordon Reynolds]

Neat photo. Gives new meaning to the phrase 'urban infill', for sure.

[NancyP]

That's pretty interesting. I bet the homeowners are baseball fans. Talk about a great outdoor aerobics site - all those steps!

[Richard Alan Fox]

I like the way he handled the road on the right.

[Christopher Lane]

Talk about a gated community!

[Sven W]

Unused stadiums appear to be a well-known town planning problem. The Osaka solution looks positively ham-fisted!

http://architizer.com/blog/repurpose-abadoned-stadiums/

[Bruno Masset]

> I believe this came about as a direct result of the major earthquake
> that struck the Osaka-Kobe region in the first part of the 1990s

It's quite unlikely that a picture taken in 1991 would show the result of the major earthquake that struck the Osaka-Kobe region in 1995.

The layout makes it much more likely that the stadium is hosting a real estate fair, with expensive-ish model homes and a simulated marina.

1991, incidentally, is about the time period when Japan's asset price bubble was peaking.

[Tim]

Very reminiscent of a Hakka walled village.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka_walled_village

[Ken Tanaka]

Sets a whole new standard for "luxury box".

[Fred]

I read that it was done as a showcase of model homes (until it was torn down in the late 90s).

[Jim]

Fascinating

[Peter Gilbert]

Mike:

On closer inspection I see Ned's image was shot in 1991, before the great Hanshin earthquake that I mentioned (which occurred in 1995), so although my previous comments about folks being relocated then resisting relocation are true in general, this situation at the old Osaka stadium is obviously not one of those. Apologies for the error.

P

[Hendrik Broekman]

A marina? Think about it.

[Trecento]

Mike,
It's worth noting for context that modern Japanese homes are considered to have a lifespan of about 30 years or less. You buy the lot, knock down the existing house, build a new one, and then use it up. Fairly practical, since you'd otherwise have to wonder about accumulating unseen damage from repeated earthquakes. The homeowners here would not necessarily plan on living in this spot indefinitely, but would value their neighbors highly.

[D. Hufford.]

Peter, the Kobe quake was in 1995. Just had the 20th anniversary in January.

[Patrick Dodds]

What's the story with the boats?

[scott kirkpatrick]

What I was intrigued with was the quadrant full of boats. How did that little lake get in there. And did the bleachers go up to let them get to the sea?

scott

[hugh crawford]

Am I the only person to look at this and think: Yeah it's Japan and there is probably some story about a mistranslation of "home field advantage"
Then I saw the boats , Now that's impractical

For what it's worth, there was an arena at Cony Island where they would put on shows of fire fighters putting out apartment building fires, full scale navel battle reenactments, and six day bicycle races. Not at the same time of course.

[Timothy Auger]

I have a flat in the former stadium of Arsenal Football Club at Highbury, in London. The former soccer pitch is a trendy Japanese-style garden (all pebbles and strange grasses); and the former spectator stands are glass-fronted apartment blocks. Works quite well!

[Jack Luke]

Naoya Hatakeyama presented a really beautiful diptych of this stadium many moons ago. I highly rate his work generally - I very much recommend checking out his 'Blast' and 'Limehills' projects.

Jack Luke

http://pruned.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/stadium-city-or-naoya-hatakeyama-part.html

[Ben]

Late to the game, but my favorite part is the boats.

[Nick Morgan]

Most surviving Roman amphitheatres and arenas looked a bit like this, until the later churches, houses and other accreted structures were removed over the last century or so. The Theatre of Marcellus in Rome is still partly built up - and very picturesque too. Oh, and the Romans used to stage naumachiae (naval battles) in such venues too!

Nick

[Paul Crouse]

It is funny to see that photo. I remember standing in that stadium with all of those houses in it when I first moved here to Japan in '95. Typical Japanese surrealism. Living in Japan is a lot like living in a Salvador Dali painting.