Mat City
On March 11th, 2011 the coastal area of Sendai, Japan, was destroyed by a tsunami.
As the memory of the catastrophe fades in peoples’ minds, however, they will inevitably resettle the area despite the danger. The previous tsunami visited the area in 1896.This project proposes an optimized, dense urban infrastructure that would stop this cycle. The unique urban morphology would allow people to safely occupy the coast and constitutes a prototype for “the rim” of Japan. The city form can be overstructured to withstand any wave size at the same time dissipating its energy and protecting areas further inland. The recurring inundation would change from a catastrophe to a city-wide festival...
Graph summarizing the relation of structural morphology and tsunami water penetration
An alternative urban topology was developed
Additional models explore shapes tumbling and accruing as a feature of the changing landscape
Spring Studio 2012, advisor : Jesse Reiser
