Riverwalk Kitakyūshū

For other Riverwalks see the Riverwalk disambiguation page.

Riverwalk in Kitakyushu and the Kokura castle moat

Riverwalk Kitakyushu (リバーウォーク北九州, Ribāwōku Kitakyūshū) is a prestigious shopping centre near the Murasaki river and Kokura Castle in Kokura Kita ward, Kitakyushu, Japan. It was opened as part of the Kitakyushu Renaissance policy on April 19, 2003 and includes theatres, restaurants, a multiplex cinema, NHK studios, the head offices of Zenrin Co. and the Asahi Shinbun (West area) and a branch of the Kitakyushu city art museum.

File:Riverwalk building.JPG

East side of Riverwalk building

Design

The design is composed of five contrasting geometrical shapes in five different colours (yellow, red, white, brown and black). The purpose is to break up the massive complex into acceptable proportions.

Map Museum

File:Riverwalk NHK & Zenrin.JPG

The NHK building (brown) and Zenrin-Asahi Shinbun building (black)

On the 14th floor of the black building is the Zenrin map museum, entrance fee 100 yen, open on weekdays only, 10.00-17.00.

Second stage

The next stage is the construction of the new 11-story Kokura campus of Nishinippon Institute of Technology which will contain the design faculty, and a 4-story Toyota Lexus showroom.

See also

• Kokura prefectural office
• Milwaukee Riverwalk in the United States

Jerde-associated architectural projects in Japan:

• Canal City Hakata (Fukuoka)
• Namba Parks (Osaka)
• Riverwalk Kitakyushu
• Roppongi Hills (Tokyo)

External sources

• (English) Riverwalk on Nihon Sekkei website
• (English) Riverwalk on the Jerde Partnership website
• (English) Riverwalk Kitakyushu official page