Emergency Supply Warehouse

In 2011 the Great Tohoku earthquake and resultant tsunami caused vast areas of farmland to be damaged by sea water. One such heavily damaged area was Minami Sanriku. After the disaster we met the residents who informed us about the salt damaged earth which had become unfarmable.

Since Atelier Tekuto had unique experience in construction techniques dealing with earth as a building material they turned to us for help. Their request was for us to design and build an emergency supply warehouse using the salt damaged earth. Using our experience and additional research we invented a new construction method utilizing the Minami Sanriku earth.

During the construction process, our staff at Atelier Tekuto held workshops with local residents, corporations and many volunteers. We made earthen bricks, laid them out and literally built the building with our own hands. Since making earthen bricks does not require special skills or technique it was easy for everyone to join in. Many residents living in evacuation centers took part in our popular workshops.