JP

Organization

Research Division

Disaster Humanities and Social Science Division
Spatial Design Strategies Lab
Senior Researcher
Doctor of engineering
Research Subject(s)
I am exploring practical research on housing and community development based on local housing culture. In a society with a declining population, a declining birthrate and a super-aging society, I aim to build design methods, planning methods, and management methods for creating a renewable, sustainable and resilientable community.
Key Words
Regional housing planning / Urban design / Regional design / Sustainable community design
Website
Research Activities

Miharu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, is a small castle town on the east side of Koriyama City. Miharu has a long history that is said to be the place where Sakanoue Tamura Maro aligned his horses when he conquered Oshu. Miharu formulated a regional housing plan in 1983. According to that plan, Miharu has continued to promote sustainable housing and community development based on the local living culture for 40 years. As a result, in line with the city planning road widening project, Miharu carried out beautiful and livable townscape development in consideration of neighborhoods, widening the sidewalks for comfortable walking, and human-scale back road development that makes the Kuranami. In addition, Miharu has practiced beautiful, comfortable and comfortable town development, such as relocating a major supermarket to its center. This attempt and its results are unique in Japan.

In the Great East Japan Earthquake, about 53,500 temporary housing units were built. Miharu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, has been promoting housing and community development based on the local living culture for 40 years. The local construction company, which has been promoting it mainly, launched the "Miharu Reconstruction Housing Building Association" and built 100 wooden emergency temporary housing units with the cooperation of the Japan Institute of Architects Fukushima. This takes into consideration the large supply in an emergency, the prolongation of time, and the living environment.
・ Materials that can be easily obtained by anyone, anywhere (all structural materials are 4 inch materials)
・ Traditional wooden construction that carpenters can build immediately
・ High heat insulation and high airtightness for comfort
・ Comfortable living with the scent of wood with natural cedar boards on both the interior and exterior
・ Concrete flat bed foundation with a durability of about 10 years to accommodate prolonged evacuation

Kaneyama Town, Yamagata Prefecture, is a small town centered on forestry in the northernmost region of Yamagata Prefecture. It is a beautiful town that was praised by Isabella Bird's "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan". Succeeded in maintaining a beautiful cityscape by promoting town development looking ahead 100 years by creating beautiful homes with Kaneyama Sugi, which aims to revitalize the region, based on the traditional techniques of Kaneyama Sugi, which is a locally produced material, and Kaneyama carpenter. are doing. Such efforts have been advocated nationwide, but no other region has realized a beautiful townscape. This is the very process of sustainable and resilient town development.

Selected Works

IWATA Tuskasa, KAGIYA Yuki, IWATA Sako (2019). A Study on the Townscape Improvement and the Economic Effects in Kaneyama Town, Yamagata Prefecture, Shanghai Urban Planning, No.148, 37-42, in Chinese

MALY Elizabeth, IWATA Tsukasa (2018). The Evolution of Localized Disaster Recovery Housing in Japan, The 11th Aceh International Workshop and Expo on Sustainabile Tsunami Disaster Recovery (AIWEST), 63-64

IWATA Tsukasa, MIISHO Takashi (2012). Study on Supply Method of Emergency Makeshift Houses by Local Carpenters and Home Builders, AIJ J. Technol. Des. Vol.18, No.40, 1093-1096, in Japanese

IWATA Tsukasa (2004). The HOPE (Housing with Proper Environment) Project, 1983-2003, TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, No151, in Japanese

Selected Memberships
  • Architectural Institute of Japan
  • The Japan Institute of Architects
  • The City Planning Institute of Japan
  • Association of Urban Housing Sciences
  • Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture
Selected Awards
  • Special Award for Regional Housing Project (Community Housing Project Promotion Council, 2013)
  • The 5th Kyushu Architecture Award (Works Award) 30 selected "KATAAKI NO SATO", 2011)
  • Minister of General Affairs Award (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Housing Monthly Commendation, 1989)