“Architecture. Possible here?” was a theme Toyo Ito had in mind even before he was appointed as the commissioner for the Japan’s Golden Lion-winning Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Biennale’s Architecture Exhibition. After the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11 in 2011, some Japanese architects realized how much their work depended on technology and economic resource, but took for granted the natural environment which could, in a matter of a few hours, wipe out the man-made environment. Mr. Ito worked with younger architects – Kumiko Inui, Sou Fujimoto, and Akihisa Hirata – for about ten months, asking them and himself the above question. After making 200 models, holding weekly discussions at Mr. Ito’s office, and visits to the tsunami-hit city, the community house “Home for All” is currently under construction in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. … Read More