Future // Landscape symposium Oct. 12 2013

T.P. + 9.9m

Kesennuma / Tohoku / Japan

International Symposium Workshop

Rebuilding Kesennuma & Shibitachi: the possibilities for a economic and cultural sustainable future for city center and fishery village

国際シンポジウム「海外から見た気仙沼と鮪立の復興計画：中心市街と漁撈集落の持続可能な未来を考える」

October 12 (Sat): 14:00-16:00 ( 1st Session): Reports of Japanese Researchers (Japanese Translation)

16:30-18:00 ( 2nd Session) : International Dialogue on Reconstruction Process (English)

10月12日(土): 14:00-16:00 (第１部)： 気仙沼内湾および鮪立集落の復興の現在（日本語要訳付）

16:30-18:00 (第２部)： 復興プロセスについての国際的対話（英語のみ）

Venue: Kesennuma Shimin-kaikan (4-2, Sasagajin, Kesennuma, Miyagi)

場所： 気仙沼市民会館　第１・２会議室（宮城県気仙沼市笹が陣４番２号）

http://www.city.kesennuma.lg.jp/www/contents/1211867102255/

Admission: Free

入場料: 無料

目的： 地域に合ったスケールで、小さな文脈を大事にして、文化とランドスケープを活かした地域再生はいかに可能だろうか。防潮堤問題に揺れる気仙沼市内湾、および同市唐桑町の鮪立集落の2カ所をケーススタディとして、ドイツ、オーストラリア、アメリカ、日本の研究者・実践家が復興の課題を討議する。

Arranged by RMIT University (Australia) + Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo企画： RMIT大学(オーストラリア)＋東京大学生産技術研究所(太田研究室)Funded by Australia Japan Foundation後援：豪日交流基金

問合せ: RMIT University <marieluise.jonas@rmit.edu.au> 東京大学 <otalab@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp>

Symposium Program prepared by Marieluise Jonas, all images and montages (c) Marieluise Jonas unless otherwise indicatedFinal schedule of participants subject to change.

What is the future for Kesennuma? How can a city rebuild itself after large-scale disaster? Why is landscape architecture a profession that offers ideas that have not been discussed?

October 2013 brings 2.5 years of countless projects, discussions, symposia and forums of how to reconcile Japans largest crisis after the second world war. What opportunities lie in yet another symposium if no real progress is being made in the light of immense destruction?

The international symposium aims to establish and strengthen existing dialogue between locals, international guests, experts in the field of spatial design disciplines, planning, fishery and agriculture.

The symposium brings people together to share ideas and reflect on possibilities for an economically and culturally sustainable future for the region’s villages and cities. This is through individual perspectives on the local condition, through questioning the seawall proposed by the prefectural government or other international practice examples on that consider landscape architecture as an agency of change.

Landscape Architecture practice offers an alternative perspective to strategies of single infrastructural focus such as a seawall. Landscape Architecture can be seen as a discipline that works across scales and legislative frameworks considering ecology of a site in watersheds or migration corridors. In foregrounding a specific context and scale, reading cultural practices of fishery, agriculture and forestry a framework of a responsive and interrelated system can be conceived.

Invited Japanese and international Landscape Architects will present their practice ranging form re-thinking cultural landscape traditions as a driver for regional development (Michio Tase, Plamtago) smart reading of topography to mitigate disaster (Hajime Ishikawa, Landscape Design, Hozumi Yuhei, Nikken Sekkei), bridging cultural understanding of the role of Landscape Architecture (Miki Mitsuta, Rush Wright Associates). Landscape Architects form Louisiana State University’s coastal sustainability lab will contribute with their experience of post disaster design research in hurricane Katrina.

Through this multi-perspective and multi-discipline symposium it is indented to demonstrate the ongoing support for the region, which we believe is necessary to enable Tohoku to draw from wide ranging expert knowledge to build its own future.

Symposium Schedule

October 12 (Sat): 14:00-16:00 ( 1st Session): Reports of Japanese Researchers (Japanese Translation)10月12日(土): 14:00-16:00(第１部)： 気仙沼内湾および鮪立集落の復興の現在（日本語要訳付）

14:00 -14:05 Hiroshi Ota and Marieluise JonasWelcome

14:05 -14:20 Hiroshi OtaExperience of 2.5 years of re-construction projects, the seawall in Shibitachi(10 minutes of translation/ questions)

14:30 -14:45 Toshihiko AbeExperience of 2.5 years of re-construction projects, the seawall in Kesennuma(10 minutes of translation/ questions)

14:55 -15:10Akihiko SugawaraExperience of reconstruction form local perspective, Kesennuma (10 minutes of translation/ questions)

15:20 – 15:35Michio TaseWorks of cultural significance as a model for Kesennuma (10 minutes of translation/ questions)

15:45 – 16:00 Satoru NagayamaLearning from loss, one tree becomes a symbol of hope, Rikizen-takada projects (10 minutes of translation/ questions)

16:10-16:30 Break

16:30-18:00 ( 2nd Session) : International Dialogue on Reconstruction Process (English)16:30-18:00 (第２部)：復興プロセスについての国際的対話（英語のみ）

16:30-16:45Hajime Ishikawa & Yohei HozumiLearning form landscapes and topographies, the evacuation route project

16:45 – 17:00 Miki Mitsuta Bridging the gap of landscape architecture in Japan

17:00 – 17:15Marieluise Jonas Landscape Architecture as a key practice to consider in dealing with disaster

17:15 – 17:30Rosalea Monacella *OUTr projects

17:30 -17:45Bradley Cantrell & Jeff Carnie *Coastal Sustainability in the light of disaster prevention

17:45- 18:00 Christian DimmerLarger questions for a resilient future

18:00- 18:30Hiroshi Ota and Marieluise Jonas Closing remarks and future direction of a global collaboration project

* contribution via skype

Organizers

Marieluise Jonas, RMIT University

Marieluise Jonas born 1973 in Germany, is a program director in Landscape Architecture at the School of Architecture and Design at RMIT University in Melbourne. She is a landscape architect and urban researcher and has practiced in Germany, Japan and Australia. Marieluise holds a PhD from Tokyo University where she researched the practice and tradition of informal gardening in Japan. Publications include: Tokyo Void (forthcoming 2014) Exposure Design Research Practice in Landscape Architecture (2012) and several book chapters and journal articles on spatial traditions in Japan.

Hiroshi Ota, Tokyo UniversityBorn in 1968 in Tokyo. Lecturer of the University of Tokyo / Architect of Design Neuob. As a researcher of the process of urban regeneration in Japan and Europe, he has been studying how good design can contribute the local culture and society. After Earthquake in 2011, he and his laboratory have been supporting Shibitachi village for discussion for the better reconstruction plan. Publications: “10+1 #31: Compact City Studies”(2003), “SSD 100”(2007)

Toshihiko Abe, Waseda University

Born in 1977 in Tokyo. Graduated department of science and engineering architecture of Waseda University, Representative of LLC Sumai Machizukuri Design Works. Lecturer of Waseda University. Architect, Professional Engineer (city and local planning). Coordinator of Conference of Kesennuma Naiwan Area.

Christian Dimmer, Tokyo University

Christian Dimmer born 1973 in Germany, graduated as Spatial and Environmental Designer from the Technical University Kaiserslautern. He earned his PhD from the University of Tokyo on the history of public space in Japan and served as JSPS post-doctoral fellow at University of Tokyo’s Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies. He is partner of the architecture practice Frontoffice Tokyo and worked with Arata Isozaki & Associates and Mitsubishi Estate. He is founder of the non-profit organisation Tohoku Planning Forum, TPF2 and is assistant professor for urban design at the University of Tokyo. He teaches also courses on sustainable urbanism, planning theory, theories of public space, and global urbanism at Waseda University.

Panelists

Michio Tase, Plamtago Tokyo

Michio Tase was born in Tokyo in 1949. He graduated from the Faculty of Horticulture of Chiba University in 1973, specialized in urban planning and the history of Japanese Gardening. After 4 years working in a landscape company, he founded PLAMTAGO workshop in 1977 and was engaged in a series of landscape design programs for housing projects in collaboration with SUM architects engineers and consultants inc. from 1978 to 1986. He became the principal of PLAMTAGO inc. CITY PLANNER ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WORKSHOP in 1990 and the principal of NORTH inc. agricultural production corporation from 2008. He is also the visiting lecturer of Tokyo University of the Arts.

Works: Across Fukuoka(1995), the Egg of the Earth (2004), Queens Meadow Country House 100 Horses Project (1998~ )

Hajime Ishikawa, Landscape Design, Tokyo

Registered Landscape Architect (RLA), Graduated Department of Landscape Architecture at Tokyo Agricultural University. Worked at Kajima Design(1987-1991) Helmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) (1991-1994). Currently works at Landscape Design Inc. as a project leader. Part time lecturer at Waseda university, Chiba university, Musasino art university. Cooperative Research Fellow at Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo.

Yuhei Hozumi, Nikken Sekkei, Tokyo

Architect Born in Fukushima Prefecture, raised in Sendai city. Graduated Tokyo University Of Science. Currently works at Nikken Sekkei LTD. One of the core member of “Nige-Chizu”, a volunteer team have worked on evacuation terrain map for tsunami affected areas.

Rosalea Monacella, RMIT University

Dr. Rosalea Monacella is Associate Professor in the School of Architecture& Design at RMIT University and the co-director of the Office of Urban Transformation Research laboratory.

Satoru Nagayama, Rikuzentakada City Planning Division

Born in Miyazaki prefecture in 1984. Master of Civil engineering department of University of Tokyo (Landscape & Civic design Lab) Worked at “Atelier 74 Architecture and Urban Planning Institute studio (Tokyo) from 2009, and engaged in the urban & rural planning. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, I was involved in creating guidelines of urban design in the reconstruction as a project of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. After 3/11 I made the decision to change jobs and move to Rikuzentakata in April 2012. There I am working for the City Planning Division, I have engaged in the work of the city park and related procedures of urban planning.

Miki Mitsuta, Rush Wright Associates, Landscape Architects Melbourne

Born in 1969 in Tokyo. She is a registered landscape architect with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) and has worked in landscape architecture and urban design in Australia, the Bahamas and Hong Kong for last 7 years. Her project experience stretches from small residential projects through middle scale urban and school/university projects to large master planning of regional parks, residential developments. She graduated originally from a university in Tokyo with an arts degree and has worked for a developer in Japan before moved to Australia to complete her masters degree in landscape architecture at the University of Melbourne in 2005.

Akihiko Sugawara

Representative of Otokoyyama Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. Promoter of “Thinking Seawall in Kesennnuma” The chief director of Kesennuma Naiwan Resilience Conference The chief director of Slow Food Kesennuma. Vice-president of Kesennuma chamber of commerce

Bradley Cantrell, LSU Landscape Architecture

Director Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Louisiana State University Associate Professor, MLA Harvard, BSLA University of Kentucky

Jeff Carnie, LSU Landscape Architecture

Director Louisiana State University Coastal Sustainability Studio

Shibitachi, Summer 2013

Shibitachi, Seawall Future projection 9.9m / 30m wide base

Shibitachi, 2010

Shibitachi, March 11, 2011

Shibitachi, March 12, 2011

Shibitachi, December 2011

3/11

The disaster that changed Japan.

14.46pm March 11 2011 an unprecedented earthquake struck the north eastern Japanese sea coast, its magnitude has been estimated at 9.0. on the Richter Scale.

At 14.49 a Tsunami Warning was issued and broadcast through TV networks and radio.

Between 15.18 and 15.33 a series of 10-17m high Tsunami waves hit the north eastern coast of Japan, destroying a stretch of roughly 500km coastline, cities, villages, 350 000 buildings, lives. The lives of 16.079 people were lost, 3499 are still missing.

On March 12 a hydrogen explosion occurs at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power plant. In a complex of 10 nuclear reactors subsequently 3 reactors come to full nuclear meltdown. In the following weeks a 20km radius evacuation zone declared which is extended to 80km later, displacing roughly 450 000 people from their homes.

In Kesennuma, 250km north of Fukushima, 1028 people were killed, 367 are still missing.

Shibitachi Minato Machizukuri Hyakunenkai - Rebuilding Shibitachi for 100 years to come

Shibitachi is the site of a joint design research project undertaken by Hiroshi Ota Lab at Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo and Marieluise Jonas RMIT University, who is a research fellow at Ota Lab. Shibitachi a 450 year old small fishing village is situated approximately 12 km east from Kesennuma City, approximately 500km north of Tokyo. Two years after the Tsunami Shibitachi now stands for countless villages in Tohoku that are struggling to cope with the standstill situation in rebuilding economy and infrastructure.

On March 11 2011, 16 people of previously 86 inhabitants were killed and all low lying buildings, the port and the main road were destroyed. As an effect of the earthquake the land mass has sunk by approx. 75cm.

Since June 2011 Ota Lab Tokyo University has been involved with a number of machizukuri (lit. town making) workshops. These workshops are conducted with members of the community and work as a bottom up approach to rebuilding the village’s road and port infrastructure as well as public amenities.

Key tasks of the project team have been so far to generate new map data, specifically terrain data and topography maps. Only very little topographic data existed previous to the earthquake which now has become unusable. Further, the design of evacuation routes is a key project now underway. Steep and narrow slopes proved as a trap for the mainly elderly population in the tsunami.

In 2012 a RMIT University Landscape Architecture Design Studio was investigating strategies for a 100 year plan that takes socio-cultural aspects as a driver for regional regeneration.

Shibitachi, December 2011

Kesennuma, July 2012 - A Landscape of Sea and Forest

Shibitachi Village

The village is part of Kesennuma-shi city. Recovery projects are led through the local machizukuri council. Shintaro Suzuki one of the village elders, owner of the Kodate estate and fisherman is leading the council.

The main source of income in the village is fishery: Tuna and Oysters. Many of the fishermen have been on tour to overseas fishing grounds such as Australia and New Zealand.

Shibitachi, Summer 2012

Shibitachi, Summer 2012 Shibitachi, Summer 2012

The Kodate estate has been subject to research prior to the Tsunami, due to its long history (approx.. 400 years). It has been designed to function as emergency shelter and is equipped with a large iron vessel for boiling water to cook rice. This pot has been used in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami as well as in prior tsunami disasters.

Shibitachi, Summer 2012

Shibitachi, Summer 2012 RMIT Studio, Suzuki Shintaro, Ito Kaori

The Pot

Shibitachi, Summer 2012 Kodate Estate

2013

Shibitachi Hyakunenkai – Where to from now?Currently, the village is presented with a sole recovery option that does not consider the impact on economy and local culture and does not present a sustainable design outcome for the village: a 200m long and 9.9m tall seawall.

The prefectural government plan foresees to build a 9.9m tall seawall that would destroy the natural coastline - a key asset for tourism - and disrupt the natural connection between sea and land, thereby jeopardizing the mayor income for the village – fishing and Oyster farming.

To offer support, our project aims to inspire the local community in producing alternatives to the one-fits-all solution that take local culture and the natural environment into account in a holistic and sustainable design solution for rebuilding the village in a bottom up machizukuri process. In presenting a diversity of ideas it is hoped that the village community will be inspired to oppose the seawall.

A one-day community forum workshop will be held in Shibitachi in October 2013, bringing local and international experts together with the local community. The experts will be asked to present their vision for a sustainable reconstruction of the village infrastructure from a landscape architectural perspective that takes natural systems fully into account and addresses the possible future through conceptual and concrete examples.

Currently, the community is affected by “recovery planning fatigue”. The expert workshop will help to bring new perspectives and renewed international exposure to the community. An immediate success will be a fresh discussion and new perspectives that will be generated in the workshop. A key outcome will be the strong signal of ongoing support in a long process of recovery.

A second further immediate success would be the questioning of the prefectural government plan of the seawall. In discussing alternative and sustainable design solutions, the community will be better equipped to oppose the sea wall. Currently, 30% of the village population is opposing the seawall, 30% supports it due to the standstill situation, and the rest is undecided due to lack of alternatives. The international expert forum will equip the community with knowledge that offers alternative solutions.

The symposium aims to be mutually inspiring and enriching. Shibitachi and the region offer a rich cultural heritage in architecture traditions unique to the region, fishery practice and food, which were the main tourism attractions prior to the tsunami.

2013 Seawall plan for Fujihama

2013 Seawall height increase in Sunago

2013 New Breakwater for Kamaishi

2013 Building higher ground, Kamaishi

Shibitachi, Summer 2013

Shibitachi, Seawall Future projection 9.9m / 30m wide base