Creation from Catastrophe

"A disaster zone where everything is lost offers the perfect opportunity for us to take a fresh look, from the ground up, at what architecture really is." Toyo Ito

The destruction of cities, whether man-made or natural, can present unique opportunities to radically rethink townscapes. Creation from Catastrophe: How architecture rebuilds communities explores the varying ways that cities and communities have been re-imagined in the aftermath of natural disasters. From masterplans to reconfigure London after the Great Fire of 1666 to contemporary responses to earthquakes and tsunamis, the exhibition considers the evolving relationship between man, architecture and nature and asks whether we are now facing a paradigm shift in how we live and build in the 21st century.
Take a journey from London in 1666, through to 18th century Lisbon, 19th century Chicago, 20th century Skopje, and ending in current day Nepal, Nigeria, Japan, Chile, Pakistan and USA. Illustrated by historical and contemporary with work by, among others, Yasmeen Lari, ELEMENTAL, OMA, Shigeru Ban, NLÉ, Toyo Ito, Metabolism (Kenzo Tange and Kurokawa Kisho) and Sir Christopher Wren.