This redevelopment plan is deemed one of Yokohama City’s leading projects to revitalize the Kannai and Kangai districts. Located in the heart of the city’s urban area, the new arenas are expected to play a central role in community development as places for citizens to mingle. In this context, we have prepared our facility plan to ensure that the arenas attract a large number of visitors and propel the creation of a bustling community, under the theme of “A sports facility bridging communities, people, and cultures.”

The main arena will be oriented toward entertainment, such as concerts and sports events, whereas the sub-arena will house a civic martial arts hall with particular emphasis on use by citizens. We have designed them to create a cityscape that increases the appeal of the entire city, by highlighting the features of the two arenas: the main arena with gentle curves that naturally attract people, in contrast to the sub-arena with straight lines that evoke tension and emphasize the importance of mental strength in martial arts.

I believe our proposal—especially, the concept of bridging communities, people, and cultures, and the division of roles between the main arena and the sub-arena—has perfectly fitted the needs and wishes of Yokohama City. When drafting the proposal, we researched in detail the city’s sports and other initiatives to identity the currently missing parts, envision what the city aspires for, and incorporate the findings in the proposal.

One of the features of the main arena is a U-shaped seating configuration like a theater. Retaining the characteristics of the current Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, our plan focuses on captivating audiences. The seating capacity is to be increased with new hospitality facilities such as box seats and lounges. In these ways, we have thought through how to make sports a viable business when designing this venue. We hope this approach will create a ripple effect in the community.

For the sub-arena, under the concept of citizen-friendliness, we have introduced a number of measures for it to be used by as many citizens as possible. Among them is a multilayered structure consisting of an arena and a martial arts hall. Some of the seats of the arena will be movable to enhance flexibility, such as for playing table tennis. We have formulated our plan with attention to raising utilization rates and lightening the operator’s burden.

Azusa has a system in place that enables us to obtain the latest knowledge, technology, and information regarding sports facilities to the best possible extent. In fact, we recently inspected two arenas in New York. We have a great deal to learn from US sports facilities as they excel in creating an enjoyable and hospitable atmosphere, and entertaining spectators. We are also proactively sharing information within the firm. The teams of the Sports & Entertainment Domain are spread across multiple sites: the headquarters in Tokyo and branch offices in Osaka, Kyushu, and Nagoya. Therefore, we have a mechanism to share information electronically with members at the other sites.

We have a monthly Sports & Entertainment Domain meeting where the core members of the domain gather. This presents an excellent opportunity to exchange information. The information obtained from the domain members and learning from overseas inspections are reflected in our conceptual design. The main arena in this project will have a space for people to relax and watch players practicing; as a matter of fact, this is an idea inspired by overseas examples.

We have a monthly Sports & Entertainment Domain meeting where the core members of the domain gather. This presents an excellent opportunity to exchange information. The information obtained from the domain members and learning from overseas inspections are reflected in our conceptual design. The main arena in this project will have a space for people to relax and watch players practicing; as a matter of fact, this is an idea inspired by overseas examples.

Each of us has a unique strength. Toramoto is good at advocating his idea logically after building a reasonable argument. Osumi has steadiness in terms of covering all important points, along with creativity, coming up with new ideas out of the blue. I believe such characteristics of individuals as these, when combined, enable us to create outstanding facilities.

When designing a facility, I try to create a place where everyone can have a good time. To be perfectly honest, I am not so much thinking of my making a sports facility; rather, my mind is set on creating an enjoyable place, providing a variety of ways to have fun geared for visitors of all types, from sports enthusiasts to couples and families. For example, ballparks have been recently evolving into a place open to and enjoyable by everyone, whether they are sports fans or not. There, the visitors can watch a game while barbecuing or enjoying meals and drinks in groups. Hopefully, sports facilities in the future will be recognized as places that anyone can stop by, including those not interested in sports.

Irrespective of the size of the projects concerned, I always seek to create buildings that remain firmly rooted in the community. Once constructed, buildings cannot be easily removed. Therefore, I try not to focus entirely on the popular architectural designs at the time, but to design a building that will continue to thrive in the community, even 100 years after its completion.

Being in a managerial position, I concentrate on raising the overall quality of the project by finding ways to skillfully incorporate novel ideas and designs of members into the building while imparting the knowledge I possess. By pursuing the perfect combination of innovation and tradition, I will continue to deliver buildings that fascinate people.