Store Plan 1, Kesennuma City Miyagi
Prefecture (2017, completed)

This was a plan to renovate an old building owned by the seafood processing company Saikichi Shoten in Kesennuma City. The building had fallen into disuse following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and we constructed a facility that could function as both a restaurant and a store (“Kanae Saikichi”) selling the company’s processed products. Adjacent to the building is Memories (the blue building at the top right of the sketch), which is the store and showroom of Kesennuma Knitting that was designed and built by Sankakuya, while situated opposite is a hotel (across from the place where the car is stopped in the sketch). We planned Kanae Saikichi while considering traffic lines with a view to generating human flows and bustle. Since this site was situated on high ground away from the city center in a place only accessible by car, the local people did not pay much attention to the location, however, following construction of this facility, people have started coming from Tokyo and other prefectures and the area is now being seen in a more positive light. Situated on solid mountain ground, the site always did have a wonderful view of Kesennuma Bay. Although a small job, this project showed us once more how the outside perspective can lead to the birth of new industries and communities.