Last March saw one of the most devastating natural disasters hit the Tohoku coast along the northeast of Japan. The earthquake was around 9.0 magnitude and caused a tsunami with effects that could be felt in California. Homes, businesses, farmlands and people have been swept away by the tsunami that left a baron land in its wake; several months on people are still trying to re-build their lives from next to nothing.
Architecturally speaking there has had to be a change in the way things are being built. Because of the economic crises and large scale of the overwhelming destruction, rebuilding cities from next to nothing is an immeasurable challenge. The process involved is hard to comprehend with little money or resources yet many have been stepping forward and communities have come together. Architects have had to in some way re-assess their building rationales and attitude in regards to new builds as they are stuck between the government and the people.
Paramount to the recovery is housing, particularly for those still living amongst the ruble in evacuation shelters. Many designers and architects are collaborating to think of innovative ways to create economical living spaces and provide the fundamental basics of human needs. Various concepts have come out of the disaster, such as the ex-container project, led by Yasutaka Yoshimura architects, where shipping containers have been transformed into temporary living spaces.
Whilst many people would think of a small dank space, these containers have proved to be somewhat elegant with fantastic interior designs incorporating useful storage systems as well as stylish décor. The inexpensive housing can also be build in different ways from stand alone homes to stacked complexes and with ease of transport these homes can be easily relocated.
The city of Kamaishi is the focus for the project homes for all, in which a partnership of architects have been designing and producing small living spaces for those who lost their homes. The thought behind the project is to give people in the disaster affected areas a place to have warmth and shelter, two of the basic fundamentals in Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. Bringing simple creature comforts to people in need will help heal and bring together a new community, with architecture at its heart.
The project, homes for all will exhibit at the Venice architecture biennale 2012 in Italy; a series of designs and models from architects to produce the new homes will form a crucial feature. Toyo Ito, key architect involved in the project put forward a poignant question, “What is architecture now”? The vision is clear to provide small sustainable homes and this will coincide with the exhibition, which will include records of the year long discussions from the architects working with Ito, a reconstruction documentary as well as photography from Naoya Hatakeyama and architectural models. The future plan for the whole project is to have the homes relocated to Japan late next year for instillation.
In the mean time areas of Japan are rethinking power sources since the Fukushima nuclear plant crises caused by the tsunami. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is aiming to alter the reliance on nuclear power and is looking to increase the use of renewable energy. But for now the power shortages are forcing the Japanese to re-assess their use of energy and smaller eco-sensitive buildings seem to be the way forward whilst the affected cities continue to clear the debris and rebuild their homes.
