b'MUDD 24 URBAN NETWORKS|URBAN GATEWAYSFukuoka: Networks, Gateways and Global Cities Brendan RandlesFor the urban designer, transition is everything. The juxtaposition of land and sea, topography and settlement, the meeting of different spaces, objects, public and private domains - the transition between built form, materials and ground plane defines urban space and gives each city its distinctive character. Transition also refers to movement - to arrival, between precincts, across town - to transport systems and the alignment of portals to the citys constantly changing form. From urban gateways to urban networks, gr eat cities extol the positive tensions between built form, the city dweller and her collective journeys through urban space. With the theme, Urban Networks | Urban Gateways, F ukuokas Hakata Port area was a fortuitous choice for the 50th international studio of the UNSW MUDD Program, Brendan Randles undertaken in association with the Graduate School of Design, Kyushu University. Not only does the metropolitan area of Fukuoka 117127 comprise a complex array of infrastructural and ecological (urban) networks, its out ward looking and evolving port presents a veritable urban gateway to an expansive regional context. Moreover, Fukuokas status as arguably Japans most vigorous global city provides a unique background for the urban design proposal, as a gateway to the world.Located on the northern side of Kyushu Island, Fukuoka faces north across the relatively stable Genkai Sea to South Korea, a mere 200km away. With such proximity to the Asian continent, Fukuoka is distinctively multicultural, its history shaped by trading partners and MUDD 24 - Urban Gateways | Urban Networks - Fukuoka Fukuoka design 8pt.indd 4 26/11/2019 5:05:22 PM'