Kanepo

Urban Design Proposal / Application Design

with Akihiro Fujiwara, Yuki Luke Morimoto

I designed an app to help people discover new landscapes in the Endo district of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture. The area surrounding the private university here is spread with rural farmland. Many residents are farmers or livestock keepers, and the idyllic scenery is well preserved. Students commute by bus from the station and rarely venture into the surrounding area—many finish their university life without ever knowing what lies around campus. Through field research, I discovered that the charm of this area lies in how it changes with the seasons and times of day, precisely because of its pastoral character. From this insight, I designed walking routes triggered by local sounds and scents. Users experience a simulated map of the area's sounds and scents on the app, and a walking route is generated based on the points they find appealing. As they walk the generated route with the app in hand, the navigation suddenly stops. There, users encounter the actual sounds, scents, and new landscapes of the area. The app aims to guide aimless walks through sound and scent, leading users to experience new scenery along the way.

Video by Akihiro Fujiwara