Gyoji Banshoya (1930–1998): a Japanese planner devoted to historic cities in the Middle East and North Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of the work of Gyoji Banshoya.^a

Year	Principal Projects or Activities	J	F	A	C	L	S
1930	Born in Tokyo	○
1953	Graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (studied under Kiyoshi Seike)	○
1953	Architectural Piece <Maison de plan Carré à Tokio>	○
1953	Trainee at ATBAT as a scholar with the French government	○	○
1954	Assistant Manager at ‘Agence de Plan’, City of Algiers			○
1959	District Plan < Plan d'aménagement de la centre ville d'Alger>			○
1959	Met Kenzo Tange and Michel Ecochard		○
1962	UNDP Technical Assistance Officer				○
1962	Facilities in Phnom-Penh				○
1963	Master Plan <Plan Directeur de la ville de Beyrouth et sa Banlieue>					○
1966	Professor at the Department of Art, University of Damascus						○
1968	Master Plan < Plan Directeur de Damas >						○
1969	OTCA (later JICA) intervention in Damascus						○
1970	District Plan < Projet d'aménagement de la vieille ville d'Alep >						○
1970	District Plan <Projet de Bab al-Faraj>						○
1975	Master Plan <Aleppo Master Plan>						○
1975	Adviser at Dar al-Handasah					○
1977	Article <Syrian Urban Formation>						○
1977	Professor at Lebanon-Catholic University					○
1982	Cancellation of <Projet d'aménagement de la vieille ville d'Alep >, <Projet de Bab al-Faraj>						○
1998	Died in Beirut					○

^aLocation of projects or activities are shown as: J=Japan, F=France, A=Algeria, C=Cambodia, L=Lebanon, S=Syria.

Source: Author.

Figure 1. K. Shinohara, M. Yamada, K. Seike, G. Banshoya, and S. Miyasaka.Source: Hayashi, “Seike Kiyoshi to Gendai no Jukyo Design,” 6.

Figure 2. ‘Surface Plan’.Source: Banshoya, “Seihokei no Ie,” 18–22.

Figure 3. ‘Completed Plan’.Source: Banshoya, “Seihokei no Ie,” 18–22.

Figure 4. The Room with movable Tatami.Source: Banshoya, “Seihokei no Ie,” 18–22.

Figure 5. The Room seems modern.Source: Banshoya, “Maison de plan carré à Tokio,” 2–3.

Figure 6. Candillis's dessin of the Square House in l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui ‘evolving’ from Left to Right. Source: Candilis, “L'habitation Individuelle Minimum,” 1.

Figure 7. G. Banshoya introduced in Alger Revue.Source: Dalloz, “Le bureau du plan de la ville d'Alger,” 1–9.

Figure 8. Banshoya working on the maquette for Annassers.Source: Dalloz, “Naissance d'une cité de 100,000 habitants,” 10–17.

Figure 9. Block plan of ‘Temporary housing replacing tin-roofed shelters’.Source: Banshoya, “Algeria no Apart,” 2–7.

Figure 10. First step with a vacant patio.Source: Banshoya, “Algeria no Apart,” 2–7.

Figure 11. Second step with a patio equipped with a Kitchen and a WC.Source: Banshoya, “Algeria no Apart,” 2–7.

Figure 12. Post office in Berne published in l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui.Source: Richter and Banshoya, “Direction Cantonale des Postes,” XXXVII.

Figure 13. André Bloc, Banshoya and K. Tange.Source: Anon, “Kenzo Tange,” VII.

Figure 14. Plan of the prototype. 1. Living Room, 2. Sleeping Room, 3. Kitchen, 4. Storage, 5. Watering PlaceSource: Hanning, Goto, and Okada, “Réadapter l'Autoconstruction Tentative Cambodgienne (1963),” 20–22.

Figure 15. Maquette of the 1964 District Plan showing the redevelopment plan for Ghalghoul and the quartier Est de la Place de Place de Martyrs.Source: Photograph by G. Banshoya.

Figure 16. Study Plan ‘Reconstitution de la Ville Antique’ in the Master Plan of 1968.Source: Ecochard, and Banshoya et al., Plan Directeur pour l'Aménagement de la ville de Damas et sa Région.

Figure 17. Diagrams of the old city.Source: Banshoya and David, “Projet d'aménagement de la vieille ville d'Alep,” 84–85.

Figure 18. Proposed Detailed Plan for the old city.Source: Banshoya and David, “Projet d'aménagement de la vieille ville d'Alep,” 84–85.

Table 2. Comparison of the concept of Banshoya plan and UNESCO report in Aleppo.

Items for comparison	Banshoya Plan (1969–1975)	UNESCO Report (1980) criticism of Banshoya plan and their countermeasures
Recognition of the whole city and the target area	It is composed of three areas: old city, Ancient Suburbs, and Today's City	No difference is made between the traditional city center with its pedestrian character and the new business districts depending upon vehicular access (p. 32)
	The target was limited to the old city and the northern part of the Ancient Suburbs.	The Bab al-Faraj area has now become the arena where the conflicts created by the expansion of the new city center are most evident (p. 32)
		More detailed recommendations concern the central area at Bab al-Faraj and west of Bab Antakia, which is of crucial importance for establishing a harmonious transition between the old and the new town. Finally recommendations concerning the northern suburbs are presented, because they now are the most exposed and the most threatened part of the historic fabric (p. 9)
Planning direction for the whole city	Taking motor traffic from the new city into account, it suggests construction of roads in the Ancient Suburbs based on Gutton's plan	To improve existing ring roads and make maximum use of them as protective devices for shielding the old town to establish a ‘barrier’ to channel west-east traffic flow into north-south arterials (p. 38)
Recognition of the old city	It is composed of three quarters: historic quarter, Old Quarter, and Degraded and Insanitary Quarter	(No direct comment)
		(Basically the old city is an object of conservation in its totality)
Historic quarter	should be conserved or cannot be developed	(No direct comment)
Old quarter	is an area where some development is allowed	The inner ring road suggested by the 1954 plan is eliminated and replaced by a number of cul de sac access ways, allowing to maintain the coherence of the fabric in these areas. However, previously proposed road channels through the old town were not questioned and completion of the two major west-east crossings was recommended (p. 31)
	Narrow lanes and blind alley-type parking lots are planned
Degraded and Insanitary Quarter	is a target for total urban redevelopment, but based on its own concept. This refers to the quarter of Bab al-Faraj	The master plan abandoned it to redevelopment without imposing specific conditions (p. 32)
		The execution of this project in its present form would induce harmful development pressures right into the heart of the old town … . In the long run, this could well mean the disappearance of the historic town as a clearly defined urban unit (p. 34)
		Equally important is prevention or change of all projects which would go against the guidelines and compromise the successful completion of the concept (p. 59)
Planning concept for the old city	It suggests limited development in the old city: access lanes with blind alley-type parking lots, the redevelopment of Bab al-Faraj. These were possible for areas without historical value or degraded areas in the old city.	The main problem is for the old town to receive enough energy to remain alive and viable, and yet to be protected against an overdose of activities which would destroy its fragile texture (p. 36)
		The clearing of the older structures adjacent to the wall in favor of open spaces may be justified from a purely archeological point of view, but would have a negative impact on the environmental quality of this part of the townscape (p. 49)
Recognition of the fabric of the old city	Monuments + houses, shops, and narrow lanes	The individual monuments should not be isolated from the urban context to which they are related (p. 6).
Policy for buildings whose function is out of date	May be converted to museums, pavilions, craft centres, hotels or tourist facilities, etc.	Such policy by no means advocates the transformation of large urban areas into a museum (p. 6)
Traffic planning policy for the whole city	Stepwise composition of traffic planning: ring road surrounding the old city for motor traffic, limited narrow streets for servicing inside the old city, and pedestrian lanes	To articulate transition zones and ‘filters’ between the new central area and the pedestrian area of the old town
		This policy implies reorganization of the space in front of the western city wall, the major area of exchange and of possible future conflicts between the old and the new towns. Introducing a series of buffer spaces will allow for filtering the impact of circulation and correlated activities and minimizing pressures on the old fabric. (p. 40)
Concrete physical plan in the old city	Conserving the historic quarters, the Banshoya plan clearly shows how to introduce narrow streets and blind alley-type parking lots in a limited way behind the Khans in the Old Quarter.	This (UNESCO's) policy means that limited service access must be provided to the old town wherever the structure of the fabric allows for it without causing heavy destruction. Local access should serve to improve living conditions and to maintain the vitality of the Medina, but should not invite the passage of exterior traffic. Therefore, it should be provided by cul-de-sac lanes only, distributing the entries in such a way as to achieve an equilibrium in ‘irrigating’ the urban fabric. Minimizing the gaps in accessibility while keeping vehicular traffic at a continuous low level throughout the historic area is the only way to preserve the homogeneous structure of the old fabric (p. 42)
Introduction of new facilities	Small green spaces, schools, small commercial centres, clinics, and the other necessary neighbourhood facilities	To create integrated service nodes accessible to vehicular traffic and combined with suitable rehabilitation projects (schools, dispensaries, community services) (p. 65)

Source: Banshoya and David, “Projet d'aménagement de la vieille ville d'Alep,” 84–85 and Bianca, The Conservation of the Old City of Aleppo, 6–77.