The Iwataya Department Store asked WalkerGroup/CNI to design a new under–ground passage connecting their building (designed by us) to an extensive tunnel network beneath Fukuoka. These tunnels connect retail, hotels and train stations and are used by people during daily travels. The existing tunnels were dark and fake urban streets. The new passages’ dimensions are 10-feet high, 14-feet wide and more than 800 feet long.

Our design was inspired by Fukuoka and its famous canals and role in history as the first emperor’s home and of modern Japanese culture. We wanted to create a time–less design which would remain fresh for pedestrians who walk through everyday.

Our solution was to make the underground space as open and luminous as possible. A sequence of "bridges" — sculptures made of steel, cables and suspended glass. The walkway is elevated and pulled back from the walls to create the impression of floating, accentuated by indirect lighting. Edge-lit glass is suspended by a web of cables at both ends and dichroic glass, held in a series of frames at the center, create a series of changing reflections. Near the store entrance, a wall of local stones provides a dramatic backdrop for the intense reflections of a fountain below.

WalkerGroup/CNI commissioned and collaborated with Art In Commerce to create an interactive sound installation evoking the theme of water and the city’s history. A series of three recordings create over-lapping sound environments comprised of water, instruments and the human voice. The voices recite haiku poems in various languages expressing the physical and emotional associations we have with water.

The project won awards from the American Institute of Architects, Architectural Record, ISP/VM+SD, and Business Week.