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photo(C)Toshiyuki Yano/Nacasa&Partners

The following is a text by the architect.

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Absolute Arrows -Hiroshima park restroom project-<2009.Hiroshima, JAPAN>

This is a restroom project build in the park of Hiroshima city, which was adopted by a design competition. it is the unique public project that approximately five restrooms are mass-produced in parks per year as regular design of the city
First of all, I considered that what should embed in "city". I was aware of designing "multitude" strongly, which is not "a " restroom in a park. And they should be given a meaning as a whole of the infrastructure in the city.

It is" interaction of man and a city" that I aimed. An absolute axis as gravity exists on the earth, and the horizontal and vertical axes are assured. The world on the earth where we lived in was formed under the principle. On the other hand, getting a bird's eye view of a city, the planar absolute axis does not exist in a city. We recognize objects studded with in the city including buildings and roads as a symbol, perceive space relatively and are making a daily life be formed. I aim to make an absolute axis in the city by being embedded the direction in infrastructure building in the city.

Anything intended here is not always be limited to Hiroshima-city. It is the universal project that is applicable in every city in the world. The world eyes always pour into a specialty in the city where historical tragedy was experienced in international peace city Hiroshima. Under such circumstances, that city Hiroshima finding the value beyond the peculiar locality and ursuing new" standard" prior to the world, will open up future Hiroshima.

Necessary space on the function of this rest room was for multipurpose restroom in which a circle of 1.5m can be inscribed, a Japanese style restroom booth, an urinal, a washbowl, passage of effective 1.2m. The north-south wall is inclined to create spacious space. In addition, I incline the roof, the north side is high, the south side is low ,to be able to look at the roof facing north from eye-level.

This restroom project assumes a mass production. Therefore it should be constructed
in any sites of any parks with the tip of triangle roof pointing at north. Accordingly I provide with 2 entrances of east and west side, so that the plan is able to turn the other way around as it functions whichever entrance.

I designed 3 variations of plans in this project. . It is possible to build the basic plan (A type) in about 80% of parks in Hiroshima-city. But smaller plan was required for small parks to make them fit in with building coverage 2% in the park set by law. It is the B type except a Japanese style restroom booth from A type, and the C type only for the multipurpose restroom.

Structure of the restroom is box frame type reinforced concrete construction. The roof is also made by concrete. Concrete is poured by the ruler of stainless steel in the edge of the acute angle part of the roof. The roof finishes by a fluoric resin topcoat after FRP waterproofing. Therefore it is possible to put the different color every roof of the restrooms.

A slit-shaped top light goes to the south and north in the center of the roof and creates lines toward north inside and outside of space. Acrylic lighting windows and round ventilation holes in eastern and western wall, and acrylic lighting windows in southern wall, are inlayed. They function that controlling the environment of the internal space. For the finish of the outer wall, I adopted the photocatalytic coating paints that the dirt is easy to come off.

By this project, I aimed at designing the city through the public building which has the strong message and space of the existence that was easy to get close to children of the park together.

5 restrooms in 5 parks are completed in October in 2009. And next 7 restrooms will be completed in March in 2010.
After that it is built around five places sequentially every year. The public restrooms with this absolute axis is being embedded infinitely in all over Hiroshima-city.