Shelter and Reconstruction After Earthquakes in Türkiye and Japan

This program explores the critical period between emergency shelter and permanent reconstruction following major earthquakes in Türkiye (2023) and Japan (2011, 2024). Although disaster recovery is often described through short-, medium-, and long‑term phases, both countries demonstrate that these phases frequently overlap—and that a prolonged “in‑between” period has become the lived reality for many survivors.

Through case studies presented by Prof. Ali Hocek and Prof. Toshihiko Abe, the session examines how residents adapt temporary housing over multiple years, how cultural and social networks support daily life, and how government policies and timelines shape (and sometimes hinder) recovery. The speakers will discuss emerging ideas such as a “fourth phase” of recovery: dignified, adaptable medium‑term housing that sustains daily life while communities rebuild.

The program connects these international experiences to broader questions relevant to New York and other cities: housing shortages, aging populations, loss of public space, community fragmentation, and the need to rethink policy frameworks that govern reconstruction. By focusing on daily life, dignity, and community continuity, this session aligns with AIA New York’s 2026 Presidential theme, Repair: Democracy and Urban Space, and expands architects' role beyond physical rebuilding toward long‑term social resilience.

Speakers:
Toshihiko Abe, Ph.D., Registered Architect
Ali C. Höcek, FAIA, Founding Principal, AC Höcek Architecture

Moderator:
Mark Gardner, AIA, NOMA, Principal, Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects; 2026 President, AIA New York

About the Speakers:
Toshihiko Abe is a Japanese urban designer and planner. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from Waseda University. His expertise spans urban design, architectural planning, and pre and post-disaster community restoration. His research focuses on revitalizing local cities, transforming vacant lots, and developing walkable communities through participatory action research. He is heavily involved in "Machizukuri," a collaborative Japanese method of community-based urban design that fosters consensus among local residents, governments, and diverse stakeholders. He also serves as the head of the Ritsumeikan University Campus Planning Office and has earned accolades, including the Prize from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) and the Good Design Award, for his practical contributions to disaster recovery and public space designs.

Ali C. Höcek is the founding principal of AC Höcek Architecture (ACHA), a New York City–based architecture office. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an adjunct professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture at City College, he is also a founding member of Collective Action for Readiness, Recovery, and Resilience (CARRRE), formed in response to the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. Höcek and his colleagues continue to conduct research in the affected region, collaborating with municipalities, professionals, academics, NGOs, and residents. He is co-curator and architect of a 2027 exhibition at the Center for Architecture in New York focusing on local and public responses to the earthquakes. His socially engaged work includes a community kitchen and restaurant and an educational pavilion in Brownsville, the latter developed with his graduate students, as well as a food forest within a complex of high schools in the Bronx.

Known for his commitment to understanding the role of design as a social practice, Mark Gardner, AIA, NOMA, is a Principal at the New York-based Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects (J/GA), an award-winning design practice and studio that works across scales from product design to interiors to buildings. He is the 2026 President of the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter (AIANY), a member of the Exhibition Committee, and a past Co-Chair and current member of the AIANY Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which he helped to restart in 2012 with Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP. Gardner is a Past President and Advocacy Chair for the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (nycoba | NOMA). He is the Associate Professor of Architectural Practice and Society at the School of the Constructed Environments, Parsons School of Design at the New School, where he was also Director of the M.Arch Program from 2017–2021. He served on the Van Alen Institute’s Board of Trustees, the Board of Advisors for the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, and the Board of Youth Design Center (YDC) in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He currently serves on the Board of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation in Williamsburg, VA, and the Advisory Board of the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites (CPCRS) at the University of Pennsylvania.