Design: Jan LETZEL
Location: 1-10 Ote-machi Naka-ku, Hiroshima City
Purpose of Use: Display local products, etc.
Completed in: Apr 1915
Total Floor Area: 3069sqm (at the time of completion)
Structure: Bricks, RC in part; three-storied, five-storied in part
The A-bomb Dome attracts the most tourists in Hiroshima. Even before the A-bombing, this building with an elliptical copper dome was a popular destination for many tourists.
However, its earthquake resistance was utterly deficient*. It collapsed without standing the fierce blast at the time of the explosion. Ironically, its monumental value might have been enhanced because it crumbled down. The Dome has survived to this day even though it was often on the verge of demolition. The Dome is supported by steel beams and its cracks are injected with resin. It has narrowly escaped collapse but might fall in an earthquake any time.
The Dome was designed by a Czech architect, Jan LETZEL (1880-1925). LETZEL
had worked as an architect of art nouveau (photo #9). Like many other art
nouveau artists, he must have headed for Japan. He designed half-Japanese
half-Western buildings such as Matsushima Park Hotel but almost all of
his works were lost and do not exist.
The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was built by Hiroshima
Prefecture as a center to expand sales routes of local products which had
increased in volume and variety due to the demand created by the Shino-Japanese
War. It was renamed Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall in 1921
and Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall in 1933. Hiroshima
local products were displayed and sold; cultural activities such as Hiroshima
Prefecture Art Exhibition, Exposition, and others were also held. In March
1944, when Japan was still fighting the war, it lost its function of promoting
industry and was used as public offices.
What I think is excellent about this architecture is to have created an
open riverside landscape, with its facade facing the river. Hiroshima has
been a city of rivers, but now many buildings face the street instead of
the river. Many can be learned from the hall to think again about landscaping
river vicinities.
原爆ドーム/旧広島県物産陳列館・産業奨励館
Atomic Bomb Dome / former Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall