Hike-able structures: The Shuto Expressway

 

Tokyo's infrastructure is very complex and efficient, and it operates on multiple levels, which I mean can be a trigger for hike-able rethinking of existing infrastructure to create better urban spaces. One fascinating example is the Shuto Expressway that floats through the inner city as a snake through the gras of buildings. It is a massive concrete structure that elevates most of the automobile traffic away from the ground plane. The Ohashi junction near Shibuya connects roads spanning 80 meters of hight difference.

Is it possible to imagine these structure to have hike-able potential? A different use in the future? Can it be transformed into green strings connecting the city?

 

I believe that rethinking of existing structures and building mass will be an important factor for hike-able means of creating better spaces in a dense city such as Tokyo.

 

The Ohashi junction; a spiral that connects roads spanning a total of 80 meters hight difference.