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Hiroshima City Naka Incineration Plant |
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 Design: TANIGUCHI Yoshio and Associates
Location: 1-5-1 Minami-Yoshijima, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Purpose of usage: Incineration plant
Completed in: February, 2004
Scale: Site Area 50,245sqm; Building Area18,877.70sqm; Total Floor Area 45,518.83sqm
Structure: S, SRC, RC, & PC in part
 map (mapion)
map (Google Map) |
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This incineration plant was built in the industrial zone near the
sea. It is part of the Hiroshima 2045: City of Peace & Creativity project,
which employs renowned architects to build high-quality public installations.
The plant vividly shows the architect's design concept.
The Incineration Plant designed by a leading architect of museums
The striking feature noticed right away is the Ecorium, a glass passage
in the middle of the building (photo #2). It is as if a glass box of 5m
width and 4.5m height were pressed into the building. The Ecorium can be
entered freely. The state-of-the-art incinerator is seen operating through
the glass. The facility embodies its gravity and functional aesthetics
which something artificial and fake found at theme parks cannot manifest.
TANIGUCHI, whose commissions include the MoMA's new wing and many
other museums, must be the most appropriate architect when the city intended
to make the plant enchanting to the eye.
Here's what he has to say:
When I start working on the design, I try to visit as many structures of
similar nature as possible. (snip) I saw many incinerator plants only attempting
to hide what they were with various exterior designs. I, however, came
to the conclusion that the exterior of the plant should be intentionally
visible as an indispensable facility needed by contemporary cities and
that the interior should be somehow public, which would help enhance the
significance of the plant as an urban facility.
(From a magazine SHINKENCHIKU July 2004 issue) |
Former approaches to resolve aversion against NIMBY* facilities were
simply hiding what they were by decorating the exterior. The most extreme
case should be a waste disposal plant in Vienna, the exterior of which
was done by painter Friedensreich Dunkelbunt HUNDERTWASSER (photo #15).
TANIGUCHI's proposal was totally different. He pointed out that the plant could reveal its identity as it was, since the large garbage disposal function was impossible to hide and also the plant would inevitably be recognized. The state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly incinerator which does not give off any unpleasant odors enabled his plan to be successfully carried out. The incinerator plant is beautifully displayed, which succeeded in trashing the negative publicity of some dirty garbage place. It also sends out an understood but significant message: humans cannot help producing garbage in daily lives; thus the waste disposal plant is a necessity for urban life; so take a good look at it before averting it as NIMBY.
Design First and Get the Attention
Some educational displays are found in the Ecorium (photo #8), but
such practicalities can be simply unnoticed because the architect insists
on his design concept. For example, a garbage truck model (photo #7) is
eye-catching and rather like a piece of modern art than something practical
to learn the structure of the truck. This design first way of display will
be one useful approach to explain administrative affairs to the citizens.
Architectural Plan matching the axis of the city
The Ecorium is on the extension of Yoshijima Street, which runs south
from the Peace Memorial Museum (photo #13 & 14).
TANIGUCHI says:
Architect TANGE, my mentor, designed the Hiroshima Peace Center in the
Peace Memorial Park. Yoshijima Street starts there running toward the sea.
The plant stands between the end of the street and the sea. That is, this
site is right on the important axis of the city. It's in the middle of
the sequence of two kinds of vistas, the city and the sea. So I decided
to extend Yoshijima Street onto the premises to create a space leading
the city to the sea. I had this idea in mind from the very early stage
of designing.
(Excerpts from a magazine SHINKENCHIKU July 2004) |
Where you can visit by making an appointment in advance.
The Ecorium is open to the public and can be visited without any
permission, while the plant tour is available by making an appointment
(photo #16, 17 & 18). The significance of this architecture's
design lies in how the building design and facility design cooperate. In
the Ecorium, the architect's intention of showing this facility to the
visitors is compatible with the actual piping arrangement, but there are
some other parts where this does not apply (photo #18).
Really successful?
There's something I have to say in the end. The architecture covered
by glass and metal is beautiful right after its completion. This plant
stands by the sea and will be susceptible to salt damage, thus deteriorate
rather soon. If the city intended to rebuild it due to deterioration, catching
up with the contemporary trend and abandoning the original design, the
present design would be acceptable. However, it is not suitable for the
architecture which should be maintained for a long time. Therefore, as
an architectural work, the plant is remarkable but might not fulfill the
target of the city's project, that is, "to develop quality public
buildings which can still be evaluated highly in 2045."
Who knows what would happen in the future. Meanwhile, you will still like this wondrous space. If you are interested in architecture, the plant is a must to visit. |
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#1 |
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#2: The Ecorium |
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#8: Educational displays at the Ecorium |
#9 |
#10 |
#11 |
#12 |
#13 |
#14 |
#15: Incineration plant in Vienna |
#16 |
#17 |
#18 |
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[notice]
The Ecorium is accessible between 9:00 and 16:30. It is closed from the
end of the year to the beginning of the next year for several days. The
factory tour is provided if you contact in advance to make an appointment in Japanese.
[footnotes]
*This is a project by the city of Hiroshima that architects should be selected
with the target of promoting infrastructure of quality design toward the
year 2045, the 100th anniversary of the A-bombing.
**This is the acronym of Not In My Back Yard and represents such facilities necessary for daily life but not welcome next to your home.
[access]
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By bus: Take Hiroshima Bus (Red Bus) #24 bound for Yoshijima Eigyo-sho and get off at Minami-yoshijima, then walk for 5 minutes. Don't take #24 bound for Yoshijima Byoin (Byoin means Hospital). |
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By car: Drive on Yoshijima Street (Yoshijima-Dori) southbound to the end. Parking lot is available on the premises. |
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Created on May 12, 2005 Last updated on Jul 4, 2008 Written by makoto Translated by jasmine Photos taken by makoto Camera: NikonD70 |
| Photos on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons License. You are free to copy and make commercial use of them under the conditions
"Attribution" and "No Derivative Works". [about copyright] |
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