Canal City Hakata

Canal City is a two-million-sq.-ft. hotel/office/retail/entertainment complex in Fukuoka, Japan. Charged with creating an environmental graphics master plan for the site, Selbert Perkins Design, Cambridge, Mass., focused on celestial imagery celebrating the forces of the universe and the passage of time. The center's five districts — the Star Court, Moon Walk, Sun Plaza, Earth Walk and Sea Court — are identified by 50-ft.-high interior sculptural towers that also serve as wayfinding devices.

Other environmental graphics include kiosks, street furniture, gateways, banners and exterior identification, including nine sculptural symbols (representing planets in the solar system) that lead up to Canal City, flanking the exterior perimeter. Signage and graphics for individual retailers were also included in the project.

Design: Selbert Perkins Design (formerly Clifford Selbert Design Collaborative), Cambridge, Mass./Santa Monica, Calif.

Architecture: The Jerde Partnership International, Los Angeles

Consultants: EDAW, Irvine, Calif. (landscape architecture); Joe Kaplan Architectural Lighting, Los Angeles (lighting design); Wet Design, Universal City, Calif. (water feature design)

Photo credit: Courtesy of Selbert Perkins Design, Cambridge, Mass./Santa Monica, Calif.