Case Study: Ishinomaki Laboratory

Ishinomaki Laboratory, part of the Ishinomaki 2.0 project, is a public space and community center that is open to the people of the region. Their focus is on self-reliance and helping Ishinomak-ians reconstruct the area themselves. This is done by promoting the construction of innovative products and marketing them globally.

The lab is the brainchild of the architect Keiji Ashizawa and its general goal is to create a new “Ishinomaki Laboratory Brand” and generate new job opportunities. In addition they also train local high school students in engineering methods and organize various workshops with professional designers as instructors.

Furniture construction and delivery to temporary housing

INJM has been collaborating with Ishinomaki Laboratory, spending over 300 volunteer hours assisting them on their projects. In association with the design and furniture company Hermann Miller, Ishinomaki Laboratory has been constructing simple, practical furniture and delivering them for free to temporary housing units in the Ishinomaki region.

INJM teams have been training with Ishinomaki Laboratory in the construction of such furniture and delivering them to the temporary houses. Eventually the goal is to train local people in this skill and market the products on a larger scale.

(Left) Ishinomaki Laboratory, Hermann Miller and INJM teams outside the workshop (Right) Hermann Miller employees teaching INJM volunteers to build furniture from simple, easy to use templates