Posted on 07/09/2005 8:16:56 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
As you walk along the corridor of a redesigned building in Hiroshima's Naka Ward, looking at the huge machines through the stylish glass walls, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in a museum, admiring works of modern art.
But the reconstructed building is none other than Hiroshima City Naka Incineration Plant, a waste disposal facility completed in spring 2004.
The plant, which faces the Seto Inland Sea, was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, one of the nation's leading architects, whose work includes renovation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Aichi Prefecture. Before designing the Naka plant, Taniguchi visited other waste incineration facilities around the country and found most were box-shaped and built to hide the machines and other equipment from view.
"But once you go inside, you can see a lot of amazing machines, much more magnificent than strange sculptures," Taniguchi said.
"I thought it would arouse more interest if we showed the machines, rather than hiding them away. This helps call for greater awareness of environmental issues."
The glass corridor that runs through the plant is named "Ecorium" and is open to the public during the day. The sight that draws most attention is the row of three cylindrical gas-vacuum towers, about 23 meters tall. The silver-colored machines viewed through a glass window are every bit as impressive as contemporary artworks. And better still, the place doesn't smell like garbage.
Following the special route for visitors adds to the sense of being in a museum. The route starts on the sixth floor. Visitors can observe the city center, which discharges the waste. In a pit where all the collected garbage accumulates, the waste creates a multicolored spectacle.
"What makes this place different from others is that it not only shows you the operation through a glass window, but also the machines at the far end," said Yutaka Kanda, who works at the plant.
"Unless the building is designed this way, even the people who work here can't see them so well," he said.
The tour ends with a view of the Seto Inland Sea. The Naka plant is not the only incineration plant with a remarkable design.
The exterior of the Maishima Incineration Plant in Osaka, built in 2001, was designed by Austrian Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The colorful building wouldn't look out of place at Disneyland.
At the Re-Tem Tokyo Plant, a privately run recycling facility near Haneda Airport, a modern art exhibition was held in May, before the plant went into operation.
Waste incineration plants, once regarded as a necessary nuisance, are becoming a more integral part of city life.
The reconstruction of the Naka plant was one of the city's projects under the Hiroshima 2045 program, which aims to pass on well-designed buildings to future generations. Hiroshima 2045 was started in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. Other projects under the program include Motomachi High School, designed by Hiroshi Hara, and Nishi Fire Station, designed by Riken Yamamoto.
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Ecorium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors must make reservations to follow the special visitors' route. Call 082-249-8517.(IHT/Asahi: July 9,2005)
Shimbun.
I just like saying, "Shimbun."
I've always been a big fan of waste-to-energy plants. Much more sensible to burn plastic and paper in bulk than to sort and process for recycling, which there is no way to make remotely cost effective. Metal may be a different story, aluminum surely is, but plastic and paper are a huge part of the waste stream and they burn hot. Municipality gets a place to send garbage, and makes money selling the electricity they produce.
But of course the environmentalpatients hate waste-to-energy, because they think 99% of the waste stream can/should be recycled.
Thanks for the pictures - nice touch.
Here's another way to turn something ordinary into a work of art:http://jimvestments.com/mural/
looks more like an early international style
Of course, there might be another aspect to its appearance. Because it is attractive, it was built in a location that might not have accepted a purely utilitarian facility.
THOSE are incredible!
Look at the depth in the Niagra Falls pic. You can "see" MILES up a river valley!
Those images are amazing. Thanks for the post.
Art ping.
Let Sam Cree or I know if you want on or off this list.
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