Disaster Response Improvement Project “ITSUMO MOSHIMO Kanda Gokencho | Kojimachi, Ichigaya

An approach to urban disaster preparedness emerging from the voices of individuals
To what extent are we prepared to face disasters on a daily basis?
Who will we turn to for help in the event of a disaster?
And in what way can we help others?
Ten years ago, ondesign participated in the launch of “Ishinomaki 2.0,” a bottom-up community development center for urban reconstruction in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, the largest area hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. For Tokyo Biennale 2020/2021, ondesign will use its experience as an architectural firm cultivated in the disaster-stricken area as the basis for a project called “ITSUMO MOSHIMO,” a collaboration with MUJI that aims to improve Tokyo’s disaster response capabilities through art and design.
Throughout the Biennale, we will conduct interviews with local residents and visitors about disaster prevention at two venues: the Hasegawa Building across from 3331 Arts Chiyoda and the MUJIcom located on the Musashino Art University Ichigaya Campus in Ichigaya. The collected voices will be installed in architectural models and maps in order to give them visual form. In addition, workshops and field surveys will be conducted based on these models to discuss local disaster risks and solutions together with residents.

(As of June 2021)

Architectural models as a platform to involve the community
The “VOICE Model”, an architectural model designed and created from interviews about disaster prevention, is a platform that involves the community. People who gather at “ITSUMO MOSHIMO” will discuss the challenges, problems, and anxieties of disaster prevention facing the target area, and the ideas generated will be reflected and accumulated directly in the models and maps. During the Biennale, the “VOICE Model,” which will continue to change with the people who visit and gather at the venue, will serve as a starting point for the sharing of wisdom by connecting various people under the keyword of “disaster.”

Collaboration with MUJI’s “ITSUMO MOSHIMO – Always ready for emergency”
By combining the practical knowledge of MUJI’s disaster prevention project, “ITSUMO MOSHIMO – Always ready for emergency” with the challenges and needs that emerge through the “VOICE model” of ondesign, we will plan and propose an original disaster prevention set. In addition, visitors to the MUJIcom on the Musashino Art University Ichigaya Campus which serves as the venue for the event, will be able to try out new “ITSUMO MOSHIMO” products that will be released in the future. → ITSUMO MOSHIMO – Always ready for emergency｜MUJI

Events for everyone to consider and prepare for disaster risks at their feet.
ondesign, MUJI, and the Chiyoda Ward Council for Social Welfare will collaborate to hold a series of workshops during the exhibition period to share wisdom and skills useful in times of disaster, in addition to tours to see the city from the viewpoint of disaster prevention, and roundtable talks to discuss local disaster prevention with residents and local companies in an effort to build knowledge and communities that can function in times of disaster. The voices and ideas gathered at these events will be recorded and disseminated through the “VOICE Model” and owned media.

Project Members

ondesign partners (Project Director)

Hirotaka Isshiki, Rina Watanabe, Asahi Naito, Yuri Murata

An architectural design firm located in Bashamichi, Yokohama. The firm has developed a wide range of projects centered on residential housing, including various facilities, urban development, and base　management. Using an interactive approach to enhance the creativity of the user, it practices open and flat design in a variety of building types.It has participated in the launch of “Ishinomaki 2.0,” an organization working toward urban reconstruction in Ishinomaki City following the 3.11 disaster.

MUJI （Project Partners）

Ryohin Keikaku, which operates the MUJI brand, aims to be an entity that considers and cares about everything from the smallest fragments of our daily lives to the future on a global scale based on a grand strategy of being “useful” to people and society. Sensitive to the various issues that are occurring in society today, Ryohin Keikaku is embarking on a variety of activities beyond the framework of the retail industry, based on its desire to be a platform for solving these issues for the better with “conscience and creativity.”

Cooperation：Chiyoda Ward Council for Social Welfare/The communities of Chiyoda Ward, Goken-cho, and Bancho