Communicating and receiving the messages of this place.

Two sentinels stand watch on the tsunami wall high above the Shibitachi fishing harbor, one overlooking the water below and the other facing the village behind the wall. Grafted onto two 90-degree angles in the wall, the pair of timber structures tower above as beacons marking the location of the harbor, while also doubling as tsunami warning sirens. The taller tower evokes a lighthouse with its glinting, reflective exterior, inviting residents to climb to the top for a west-facing overlook of the harbor. The smaller tower facing Kesennuma is more introspective, with space to inhabit and listen as the shape of the structure amplifies the sounds of the sea within.

Together, the sentinel towers communicate and receive the messages of this place, listening as intently as they transmit. One looking to the past as the other points to the future, the towers grasp onto the present state of the tsunami wall, rising above their base function as emergency infrastructure to become spaces for deep listening. While the walls sever direct physical connections between land and sea, the towers remind us the importance of continuing to occupy this culturally significant place, and the power of experiencing it though all the senses.

Shibitachi Harbor, Kesennuma, Miyagi, Japan
Design: Robert Hutchison, 2023 - 2024
Collaborators: Forrest Bibeau, Michelle Hook, Rachel Rubis, Scott Claassen, Xiaoxi Jiao
Drawings: Rachel Rubis
Models: Rachel Rubis, Xiaoxi Jiao, Michelle Hook
Visualizations: Michelle Hook, Rachel Rubis, Scott Claassen