The Ravensbourne group with the principal of Unosumai Elementary School: they discussed issues affecting children post disaster (Photograph by Kate Sedwell)
News20 June 2020
Design for Social Regeneration in Kamaishi
Categorised under: Grants
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation awarded a Daiwa Foundation Award to Ravensbourne University’s Department of Architecture to support travel in summer 2019 to Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture by a group of Architecture students led by Idrees Rasouli (formerly based at Ravensbourne and founder and CEO of X-Crop) and Kate Sedwell from Atlantic Pacific Rescue to collaborate with counterparts in Kamaishi to explore the role of design in responding to mass disaster. The aim was to identify immediate and longer-term needs in Kamaishi.
In Japan, the Ravensbourne students furthered their understanding of cross-cultural collaboration and knowledge-exchange in the area of social regeneration, and were tasked with conceiving solutions for immediate and longer-term provision after mass disaster. Collaborating with a range of counterparts and stakeholders in Kamaishi, the UK group proposed design interventions with the aim of fostering positive change in Kamaishi through building hope and empowering residents.
The poject is set to continue as the team hope to explore the impact of tourism on the psychological and cultural aspects of Kamaishi, explore avenues and strategies for branding post-disaster and post-rugby world cup Kamaishi, and to research and explore water and nature-related sports tourism
A report on the project can be found via the link below:
Design for Social Regeneration After Mass Disaster, Kamaishi