The Maeamihama Veneer House is an updated and improved version of the Minamisanriku. The building includes a gathering space and a storehouse for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It was constructed by volunteers of the local fishermen’s union using plywood made from local forest thinnings.

 

The entire construction process was diagrammatically illustrated in a construction manual, so that the procedure could be easily understood without conventional design drawings. This reduced errors during assembly and enabled all construction personnel to understand the sequence of construction. In addition to the manual, the construction progress was shared in detail among all persons involved through the internet. Using social media to share the construction process with members of the community who were unable to participate is one step in the development and exploration of a truly social system of architectural production.

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TEAM: Architecture for Humanity (Sponsor), Kobayashi Maki Design Workshop (Design, Construction), Keio University SFC Hiroto Kobayashi Laboratory (Design, Construction), Akira Suzuki (Structural Engineering), Shin-ei Kogei (Precut), Kouetsu Fujio (Construction), Maeamihama Fisheries Cooperative Volunteers (Construction), and others