Groundswell

The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 moved the main island of Japan 8 feet east and shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 4 and 10 inches. The 40-foot-high tsunami that hit the shore 30 minutes later wiped out a 500-kilometer stretch of coastline, and caused the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. More than 20,000 people died and 470,000 lost their homes. Four trains carrying 2,654 people traveling along the Miyagi coastline vanished without a trace.
Groundswell: Guerilla Architecture in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake displays architecture in action. Frustrated by the slow and inept government response to this natural catastrophe, a number of architects took it upon themselves to address the trauma and rebuilding needs of area residents. Groundswell presents a selection of their efforts as it engages the ongoing conversation of how architecture can serve communities following a natural disaster. The exhibition features works by artist Hiroyasu Yamauchi, and architects Hitoshi Abe, Manabu Chiba,Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (of Atelier Bow Wow), Senhiko Nakata, Osamu Tsukhashi, and Riken Yamamoto.