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A-bombed building to be preserved and turned into hub for peace education and research

by Masanori Wada, Staff Writer

On February 1, the fifth meeting of an expert advisory panel (composed of 14 members) to discuss the plan for preserving and utilizing the former Science Faculty No. 1 Building was held at the Higashi-Senda Innovative Research Center. The building survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and still stands on the old Hiroshima University campus in Higashisenda-machi in Naka Ward. The panel agreed to a plan in which at least the front wing of the E-shaped building will be reconstructed into an I-shaped structure that will serve as a hub for peace education and research and include facilities for public exchange activities. The City of Hiroshima will seek opinions on the plan from the public and then make a final decision in mid-March.

The City of Hiroshima will organize two expert review meetings in the next financial year with a body working beneath the expert advisory panel, to discuss ideas to make use of the building for peace education and research and public exchange activities. The expert advisory panel will then decide on a specific plan based on the discussions at these meetings. Thus, there is the possibility that the area to be preserved will expand as needed.

The meeting on February 1 was attended by 11 committee members, including university professors and citizens’ representatives, and the city, which serves as the secretariat, presented a draft plan based on the ideas discussed at previous meetings. According to the proposed ideas, the Science Faculty No. 1 building will essentially be reshaped into an I-shaped structure with only the front wing being preserved. However, depending on the utilization plan and financial resources, the area to be preserved could be expanded to the wings behind the front wing. Most of the proposed plan was approved.

With regard to the utilization plan, it was decided that, considering the significance of the A-bombed building, the structure is to be used as a hub for peace education and research and that it would also be used as a complex where the public can engage in exchange activities. Some members suggested making use of important historical aspects of the building, while others said that the new facility should have functions which will invigorate the local community.

After the meeting, Takashi Takata, the chair of the advisory panel and a vice president of Hiroshima University, said that they will determine a concrete plan which will make the best use of the value of the former university building that survived the atomic bomb and has served as a symbol of Hiroshima, a city of education.

The plan to preserve and make use of the building is part of the vision held by the City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima University of creating “a site for intellectual activities.” One third of the old Hiroshima University site (11.4 ha), which includes the Higashi-Senda Innovative Research Center, has already undergone commercial redevelopment, such as the construction of rental accommodations for students.

(Originally published on February 2, 2017)

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