A Video Report from Tohoku / A Stage for All

みんなの舞台

A Stage for All – Rin Rin Popolo

MIT JAPAN 3.11 INITIATIVE

MIT JAPAN DESIGN WORKSHOP 2013

This video report, filmed by photojournalist and documentarian Jake Price, captures the spirit of collaboration in Tohoku surrounding the construction of a gathering space for local residents affected by the 3.11 triple disaster.

The video can also be found and viewed online.

Thank you to the Toshiba International Foundation for supporting this effort.

JDW2013 / The completion

After all the participants’ and local community’s hard work, the mini stage is finished in a record time!  Kota Isobe, part of the group from the University of Tokyo, wrote the update from August 10th:

In the morning, we went to the landlady’s land and then went to the construction site in Iriya. Today is the final day, so everyone worked hard to achieve each role (e.g. bench, handrail, floor, desk, stairway, wall, floor bed, signboard, and so on). Taking into consideration the demands of the neighbors who visited yesterday, I adjusted the height and appearance of the bench and fixed it. When I finished the work, I participated in the final adjustments of other aspects of the project. 朝はホテル観洋の女将さんの土地を視察しに行った後、入谷の現場に向かいました。本日が完成予定日ということで昨日の各自の持ち場(腰掛、手すり、床、机、階段、壁、花壇、看板等)の仕上げと最終調整に一生懸命です。本当によく分業化が進んでいました。僕は前日にご近所の方々から頂いたご意見を元に腰掛の高さ調整と固定、見栄えの向上に尽力した後、別箇所の見栄えや耐久性の微調整に参加しました。

Although we were a little behind schedule, we finished the construction satisfactorily! やや予定より遅くなりましたが、明るいうちに満足いく形で完成!

We invited neighbors and people who we felt indebted to for the stage completion ceremony! Seeing their smiles, I felt a sense of accomplishment and believed that this stage would be used. I felt that architecture cannot stand up alone without its users. お世話になった方々とご近所の方々にお越しいただき、落成式をしました。皆さんの笑顔が本当に素敵で、達成感に浸れたし、今後も使っていただけると思えました。使う人がいてこその建築なのだなあと実感。

I’m very glad to have met you all! It has been a great pleasure!!! ジェイクがとってくれた集合写真。本当にみなさんに出会えてよかった!

We enjoyed a barbecue together and gave a toast! We invited the town mayor of Iriya. We students gave cards with handwritten messages to Kanda-sensei and Otsuki-sensei to express our gratitude. Laying down on the bamboo stage, I could see stars glittering in the night sky and spent a happy moment there. I’ll never forget this experience, ever. みんなでバーベキューパーティーをして乾杯!入谷の町長さんにもお越しいただきました。学生から神田先生と大月先生に寄せ書きをお渡ししました。出来上がった舞台の上で横になると、夜空に星が輝き疲れを忘れて本当に幸せなひとときを過ごせました!忘れられない経験を、ありがとう。

A bit about today’s contributor:
Kota was born in Yokohama.  In the future, he wants to become an architect.  When the earthquake happened, he was practicing judo in Tokyo and the impact of the disaster was huge even in Tokyo.  Through this workshop, he wanted to know for himself the real state of Tohoku region.  He likes Pokémon video games and has practiced judo for six years.

神奈川県横浜市生まれ東大一年の磯部宏太です。僕はものづくりに興味があり、建築家志望です。大震災の時は東京もかなり揺れて影響も大きかったです。僕はまだ被災地を訪れておらず、現状を現地で見る事で被災地における建築の役割等を考えたいと思います。趣味はポケモンで、中高6年間柔道をしていました。よろしくお願いします.

Read more about this year’s program participants here.