56March
11, 2011: The world watched in
horror as lives and property were
wrecked when 40-metre-high tsunami waves ruthlessly
pounded the Pacific coast of Tohoku following
the Great East Japan earthquake. Authorities later
confirmed that almost 16,000 people perished that day.
As many as 400,000 buildings collapsed, either fully or
partially, and a further 750,000 sustained damage.
Stepping off the plane at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle
Airport half a world away, Japanese architect Shigeru
Ban received news of the disaster in his homeland. He
knew at once that there was no time for despair. Plans
began materialising in his head. The road to recovery
had to begin by “re-covering” people stripped of a place
to call home.
Most architects aim to create original buildings for
their individual clients. The most-renowned architects
involved in post-disaster projects, however, know that
their duty entails more than just putting materials
together. The specific needs of the affected community
must be considered, without undermining local
expertise and customs. Humanitarian architects havethe opportunity to interact with the most important
people in the design process – the end-users.
According to Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning
Ban, the minority is the most disadvantaged. “I’ve
always observed that the field of architecture is reserved
for the privileged people in the upper class of society,
who wish to visualise their wealth for others to behold,”
he remarks.
“But my life’s calling has been working for the less-
privileged. Even in post-disaster relief projects, which
cover large numbers of people in distress, there is
still a minority that even governments cannot reach.
I do not have the financial capacity to help the
majority of people who need assistance, but I can help
the minority.”The most-renowned architects
involved in post-disaster projects,
however, know that their duty
entails more than just putting
materials together.PHOTO BRIDGIT ANDERSON, VOLUNTARY ARCHITECTS' NETWORK