Interview by Tim Patterson

Photows by Katharine Burgess

Katharine
Burgess and I were hitch-hiking down the Izu Peninsula, south of Mt.
Fuji Japan. We caught a ride to the northern edge of the peninsula,
where our map showed a road hugging the coast all the way to a place
called Toi.

Toi
means “very far away” in Japanese, but Kat and I weren’t
worried – we had an hour of daylight left, and rides had come
easy all day. We raised our thumbs with confidence as the sun set
over the harbor.

Four
hours later, chilled to the bone, we ducked into a 7-11 and looked at
another map: the road to Toi was closed. In between there was
nothing but rocky beach. Most travelers would burst into tears, or
at least call an expensive cab back to the train station, but Kat
never lost her cool. Soon, she had charmed four incredulous
fishermen into driving us an hour out of their way, and we made it to
Toi in time for Asahi beer at the Endless Summer bar.

Kat
was in the middle of an epic trip around the world, having won a
grant to study how urban centers were rebuilt in the aftermath of war
and destruction. From Dresden to Sarajevo and (overland!) from
Hiroshima to Hanoi, Kat traveled through bustling cities that had
once been devastated by the brutal machinery of modern war. When
the Asian tsunami hit, Kat volunteered in Thailand. Returning home to the States,
she found a job with Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Company, one of the
most innovative, influential and controversial urban planning firms
in the world. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the office became involved in the replanning of devastated
communities across Mississippi and Louisiana. At the age of 24, Kat
found herself in the midst of one of the most epic rebuilding
programs in modern U.S. history.

_______________________

Kat, thanks for taking the time to chat. 

I’m
honored to be interviewed on Matador!

Let's start with your intial study project. Was there a common theme to the post-war archiecture in the rebuild city centers you visited? 

When
studying the cities before visiting, I was struck by how similar
these very different places looked in the immediate aftermath of war.
Similarly, many of the challenges of initial recovery were universal
- for example, housing, physical infrastructure and employment
opportunities had to be provided for the returning populations. In
addition, politicians often framed these cities’ challenges in
similar ways - describing rebuilding as an opportunity and
emphasizing that new cities' physical forms would improve upon what
had been built before. Read More...