近年、ファッション業界でもサスティナブル(持続性)やリジェネラティブ(再生)など、環境負荷を考慮した取り組みが急速に拡がっています。個人的にもマイボトルを持ち歩くなど、ゴミの削減を心がけてはいますが、どうしても“ゼロ”にはできないのも事実、、。今回はそのゴミを追って、広島市内にあるゴミ処理場「広島市環境局中工場」へ行ってきました。
ゴミ処理場と聞くと、ギザギザ屋根に煙突がついた建物で、煙突から出る煙の影響で周りの空気が汚れているというのが私のイメージでした。が、この中工場、まるで近代美術館のような佇まいで外観から度肝を抜かれました。
調べてみると、設計されたのは建築家の谷口吉生さんという方。簡単に経歴をご紹介すると、丹下健三都市・建築研究所での勤務を経て、計画・設計工房を設立し、谷口吉郎建築設計研究所所長、谷口建築設計研究所所長などを歴任された方です。代表的な作品には東京国立博物館の法隆寺宝物館やニューヨーク近代美術館、近年ではGINZA SIXを設計されています。とにかくすごい方が設計されているのです！
さて、施設の外側から2Fに上がると、ecorium(エコリアム)という自由に見学のできる通路があります。左右はガラス張りとなっており、手前には植物が植えられています。奥に所狭しと並ぶ機械群はまるでアートのよう。有機物と無機物が融合した通路はかなり“エモい”空間でした。
そこを奥まで進むと海を望めるデッキに出ます。煙突から出るのは有害物質が取り除かれた無色無臭の煙のため、景観を損なうことはなく、悪臭が漂ってくることもなく、気持ちの良い潮風を感じることができます。デッキの先は広々とした公園となっており、海を眺めながらのんびりとした時間を過ごせます。
エコリアムの存在は「平和記念公園」と深い関わりがあります。
平和記念公園は世界的な建築家である丹下健三さんが戦災復興のため設計されました。中工場は、その平和記念公園から伸びる吉島通りを真っ直ぐ南下した位置にあります。
谷口吉生さんは丹下健三さんが敷いた平和の軸線（原爆ドーム、原爆慰霊碑、平和記念資料館を同一線上に並べた都市軸）を建物で遮らないようにと、建物の間を通って軸線が海へ突き抜けるように設計されています。広島の戦災復興とは切り離せない、広島ならではの設計と言えるのではないでしょうか。
ちなみに事前に予約をすれば施設内も見学することができます。
せっかくなので私たちも事前に予約をして施設内見学。事前の案内では小学生と一緒に見学する予定でしたが、当日行ってみると私と同行者の2人だけに。少ない人数で見学させてもらうのはなんだか申し訳ない気分になりましたが、スタッフさんは快く施設内を案内してくださいました。
まず案内されたのは中央制御室。ここは焼却炉やボイラーをはじめ、工場内にある様々な機械の制御や、監視を行うところです。普段はコンピューターによって自動運転をしていますが、必要に応じて、手動運転に切り替わるそうです。正面に設置している大型モニターには、工場内の重要な設備の映像が映し出されています。
突如目に飛び込んできたのは、ゴミを掴むための巨大なクレーン。この巨体が動いている様は圧巻そのものです。写真ではわかりづらいかもしれませんが、軽自動車を簡単に掴めそうなくらい大きなクレーンです。クレーンの下には市内各所から集められたゴミが有り、クレーンでゴミを混ぜ、焼却しやすいようにしています。
施設内では、まるでSF映画に登場する宇宙戦艦の中にいるような錯覚に。どれもこれも規格外のスケールで男心がくすぐられます。
映画といえばこの中工場は、今話題の【ドライブ・マイ・カー】という映画のロケ地となっています。この記事を書いている間にも、日本映画としては史上初のカンヌ国際映画祭で脚本賞を受賞し、日本アカデミー賞最優秀作品賞を始め、あれよあれよと20冠を達成した物凄い作品なのです。
「映画を見て広島へ来た」と遠方からもお見えになる方がいらっしゃるくらいの巡礼地となっています。知ったげに記事を書いておりますが、私はつい先日まで全く知らず、、、先ほど映画を拝見しました。人の多面性や感情が幾十に重なる深い映画となっているのですが、市内近隣の見慣れた風景が登場する度にテンションが上がる私でありました。
中工場の紹介は以上となりますが、書き切れていないこともたくさんあります。ぜひ実際に訪れて、このスケールを肌で感じてください。
余談ですが、実はこの記事、一度ボツをくらっています。というのも先日掲載された「ピロティから覗く広島名建築」の記事と勝負をして敗北したのが要因。それでも紹介したいという気持ちが抑えきれず、校正に校正を重ね、ようやく日の目をみることができました。文章力を身につけないといけないなと痛感した次第です。
まだまだ成長が必要な私ですが、少しでも「いいね！」と感じたら、好評価を伝えにお店に遊びにきてください。次のやる気に繋がります！
ご一読有難うございました。
※広島市では被爆50周年の1995年に開始した「ひろしま2045 : 平和と創造のまち」プロジェクトを行なっています。このプロジェクトは、被爆100周年である2045年に向け、優れたデザインの社会資本を整備していこうとするものです。
計画段階から建築、土木、ランドスケープ等のデザイン力に優れた設計者を選定、起用することにより、個性的で魅力ある都市景観の創造を推進しています。
かつて同地にあった清掃工場の老朽化に伴い、広島市環境局中工場として立て替えたのもこのプロジェクトの一環です。
桑原 法大
在籍店舗／DESCENDANT HIROSHIMA
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In recent years, the fashion industry has seen a rapid spread of initiatives that consider our environmental impact, such as sustainable and regenerative fashion. Personally, I do things like carry around my own bottle and try my best to reduce waste, but the the impossibility of creating zero waste is also a reality. We followed [our] “waste” this time, and went to the Hiroshima City Environmental Bureau Naka Plant, a waste management facility located within the Hiroshima city limits.
When you hear of a waste management facility, you might imagine a building with a saw-tooth roof with a large chimney, and the surrounding environment being polluted by the smoke that comes out of that chimney. But the Naka Plant, with an atmosphere like that of a modern art museum, took me by surprise. Looking into its history, the Naka Plant was designed by the architect Yoshio Taniguchi. To briefly explain [his] background, Taniguchi worked for the Tange Associates architectural firm, later establishing a design and planning studio as well as succeeding as head of the Yoshiro Taniguchi Architectural Planning Research Institute, and the Yoshiro Taniguchi Architectural Design Research Institute. His notable works include the Tokyo National Museum’s Horyuji Treasure Gallery, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and in recent years the GINZA SIX building’s design. Anyway, it’s designed by someone really amazing!
So, going up to the second floor from the building’s exterior, one enters the “ecorium”, a walkway made to freely examine the plant’s facilities. Both right and left sides are all glass, and to its front are, an arrangement of plant life. The machinery lined up in the back that align with the narrow walkway are like works of art. Both organic and inorganic mixed together in this walkway which create a very emotional space.
Going through this walkway, at its end is a deck for looking out into the sea. Any hazardous material has been removed from the smoke that comes out of the building’s chimney, so it is transparent and odorless, keeping the scenery untouched. Since there are no unpleasant smells, you are free to enjoy the sea breeze. The end of the deck is made into a spacious park, and one can spend time relaxing, looking out into the sea.
The existence of the ecorium has a deep connection with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Peace Memorial Park was designed by the architect Kenzo Tange for Hiroshima’s reconstruction after the second world war. The Naka Plant is placed directly south of the Peace Memorial Park at the end of Yoshijima Street, which connects the plant to the Peace Memorial Park. Yoshio Taniguchi made sure not to disrupt the ‘axis of peace’ laid out by Kenzo Tange (the straight line which the Atomic Dome, the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum all fall on), and so the plant is placed at the very end of this line which runs between these buildings. The Naka Plant’s planning is inseparable from the planned reconstruction of Hiroshima from the war, and its design is unique to Hiroshima’s situation.
By the way, if you make a reservation, you can also take a tour of the premise. Since we had planned a visit, we made a reservation as well. Originally, we were scheduled to take the same tour with elementary school kids, but when we arrived, it was just me and my colleague. I felt a little bad about making them give a whole tour for so few people, but the member of staff leading us was very pleasant, and showed us all through the facility.
The first place we were taken to was the central control room. Beginning with the incinerator and the boiler, this room allows for the controlling and surveying of the various machinery within the facility. Usually, everything is operated automatically using a computer, but operations can be switched to manual controls when it is necessary. The giant monitor placed right in front showed video of critical equipment within the plant.
Suddenly, what appeared in front of my eyes was a giant crane for grabbing trash. The sight of this massive thing moving was truly beholding. It might be hard to get an understand with pictures, but this crane was seemingly big enough to grab ahold of a small car. Underneath the crane is trash gathered from all around the city, and the crane mixes this trash to make it easier to incinerate. Being inside the premise was like being inside of some kind of space battleship from a sci-fi film and the unusual scale of everything was extremely stimulating.
Speaking of films, the Naka Plant has recently been one of the locations for the film Drive My Car which has been the talk of the town lately. Even as I am writing this article, it has won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Japanese film, best picture at the Japanese Academy Awards and has received a total of 20 different awards, proving to be an incredible piece of cinema. It has even become somewhat of a sight of pilgrimage, with people coming from afar to Hiroshima because of this film. I’m writing about this as if I’m knowledgable about this movie, but actually, I didn’t know about it until the other day… I’ve really just only recently seen the film too. But the film, depicting the many various aspects of people as well as their emotions, in addition having many deep layers, showed familiar sceneries from neighborhoods within the city, which every time got me very excited.
That is it for this article about the Naka Plant, but there are still many things I could write about, so please consider paying a visit in person and experience the scale of this place first hand.
Lastly, a bit of a digression, this article has actually been turned down once, this article was actually competing with an article that was carried out the other day titled “Hiroshima Architectural Masterpieces with Pilotis” to which it lost, but even then I wanted to bring this article forward, and after proofreading time and time again, it has finally been able to see the light of day. It has been somewhat of a painful realization that I need to get better at writing. But while I still have a lot of growing to do, if you’ve felt at all that you’ve enjoyed this article, please come to the store and share your impression with me. It’ll give me motivation for my next article!
Staff: Kuwahara
※In Hiroshima City, there is currently an ongoing project titled Hiroshima 2045: A City of Peace and Creation which began in 1995, the 50th anniversary year of the atomic bombing. This project, leading up to 2045 which will be the 100th year anniversary since the atomic bombing, aims to improve the social capital of the city with good design. By selecting planners/designers in fields such as architecture, civil engineering, and landscaping that are excellent in their fields and appointing them from the planning stage of projects, this project hopes to promote the creation of a unique and attractive city landscape. Rebuilding the aged waste management facility that once stood where the Naka Plant now stands was also part of this project.
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