L'utopie du désastre, La Maison pour tous de Rikuzentakata

After the tsunami in Japan in March 2011, an architects’ collective led by Tokyo Ito launched the project “Homes for All”, communal buildings for the inhabitants of the devastated towns.
Along with Toyo Ito, 3 young architects, Su Fujimoto, Kumiko Inui and Akihisa Hirata, build one of these homes in Rikuzentakata. Using trees from the destroyed forest, they create the image of a house with a pointed roof, pierced by 19 tree trunks. Running around the inner space is a promenade deck alternating stairs and terraces, facing the countryside: the rectangular street grid is the only trace left of the vanished town.
Designed in 6 months, built in 5 months, the “Home” was awarded the Golden Lion at the 2012 Venice Biennale.
The title is a reference to the phenomenon of mutual assistance and solidarity that emerges following a catastrophe. The”Home for All” project seeks to further such utopias.

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