Odori Tunnel / sequence design / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The Odori Tunnel, at length of 4.3 kilometers, is part of a highway, passing through a beautiful mountain scenery.The highway links Nagoya and the old historical city of　Takayama, a popular sightseeing spot; the Odori Tunnel is a buffering zone from the junction complex of overhead bridges to the lowlands, where the view opens up. The location in the beautiful mountain scenery, the tunnel which is the approach to Takayama, the destination for history travellers, and the vitalisation of the region required a design of connectivity of the natural scenery into the space of velocity. The tunnel up to now has been an artificial, characterized by little diversification, homogenious space, uneasy to drive through and often a psychological burden for the traveller. We integrated the design into the tunnel in order to abate the psychological feeling of oppression and constriction, considering the connection of the scenery before and after passing the tunnel while targeting to realize a safe and pleasant space of velocity.

The design consists mainly of a pattern of colorful horizontal stripes on white background interior tiles, whereas length and color, depending on the arrangement, intend the feeling of spatial opening and stable traveling. The pattern, extending from the outside, changes gradually like a thrilling story, developing continually while traveling. This liberal plan and design got approval from the committee of specialists and users after inspecting the computer aided animation. Currently the construction is in progress, completion is scheduled for March 2005. This project is the result of 11 years of studies on perception and velocity.

		video