For architecture lovers, Japan offers many “must-see” sights. Besides many well known architectural landmarks, over time I discovered a lot of hidden gems, architectural jewels lost in the backstreets, like the one in this photo, the Iidabashi Station of the Tokyo Oedo Line.

This spectacular creation is the result of the artistic vision of Makoto Sei Watanabe, a well known Japanese architect, who also designed the Aoyama Technical College, the so called “Gundam Building”.

Even without knowing anything about it, the building is breathtaking, a masterpiece of originality. But I also love the concept behind the architectural design - like many other samples of Japanese post-modern architecture, it makes you dream of a futuristic world which coexists with nature. The station was designed to look like a living organism, an architectural “seed which germinates underground” and grows into a huge metal flower. The flower (or is it a wing?) is actually a ventilation tower, housing the air-conditioning equipment for the subway station.
Like a giant lung… a work of art that gives strong feelings… don’t you think?

Iidabashi Station, Oedo Line, Tokyo

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: A Japan Photo per Day - Ryogoku Bridge