JAPAN|
Highways are developed to make our travel to long distances and interchanges, or junctions, connect those highways to pass or change direction without much disturbance or interruption.
In Japan, heavy mountainous terrain and dense cities create unique challenges; the truth is that interchanges are constructed as magnificent feats of structural engineering. However, we cannot appreciate its outcomes by merely looking at it from your car window seat as you pass by.
Have you seen the most structurally beautiful interchanges in Japan from the design perspective? Well, it is the Takaosan Interchange. It is situated in the Western suburbs of Tokyo. It was completed in 2012, and it’s a fantastic 12-way interchange that connects Route 20 with the Ken’odo. What also makes it beautiful is that it is nestled in between mountains. Well, I can’t even imagine the engineering challenges that had to be overcome while building it. However, the outcome is a beautifully curvaceous structure.
The Ohashi Junction is a tremendously intriguing structure that won a Good Design Award in 2013. It is 70m high and is a double-looping structure. It is located in the middle of Tokyo, so engineers incorporated many elements that would make it less intrusive. Rome’s Colosseum inspires the design, and it has a rooftop garden.
