Four-year renovation of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum begins
Mar. 24, 2014
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
On March 18, the City of Hiroshima began a major four-year project to renovate Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
In conjunction with seismic retrofitting of the Main Building, designated an important cultural property by the Japanese government, the East Building will be renovated as well. The city plans to revamp the tour route and exhibits in order to better convey the consequences of the atomic bombing. The construction work will proceed from the East Building to the Main Building, with a full opening of the museum set for April 2018. Although the exhibits will be scaled back through the duration of the project, the museum will remain open throughout the year, except for the year-end and New Year’s holidays.
After the renovation, the Main Building will consist of four zones: the disastrous conditions of August 6; the damage caused by the bomb’s radiation; belongings left behind by A-bomb victims; and information on how A-bomb survivors have struggled to survive since the atomic bombing. For each zone, the focus will be on “authentic artifacts,” such as stone steps etched with a human shadow, caused by the heat rays, and a burned, charred tricycle. The city plans to remove the mannequins, presently on display, which represent figures of A-bomb survivors in the aftermath of the bombing.
The entrance and exit will both be located on the first floor of the East Building. Visitors to the museum will first go to the third floor via a newly-installed escalator in the East Building. After touring the Main Building, they will return to the East Building to learn about the history behind the atomic bombing, the reconstruction of Hiroshima, and the current state of nuclear weapons in the world.
The work begins with the renovation of the interior of the basement in the East Building. From this fall to the end of fiscal 2015, the East Building will be closed and work to install the escalator will proceed. In fiscal 2016 and 2017, the Main Building will be closed to move forward with the seismic retrofitting work.
This is the first full renovation effort since the East Building opened in 1994, and the total cost is budgeted at 5.7 billion yen. An official at the city’s Peace Promotion Division said that the focus will be on displaying real artifacts and making the sorrow and suffering of the people more readily understood.
(Originally published on March 18, 2014)
On March 18, the City of Hiroshima began a major four-year project to renovate Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
In conjunction with seismic retrofitting of the Main Building, designated an important cultural property by the Japanese government, the East Building will be renovated as well. The city plans to revamp the tour route and exhibits in order to better convey the consequences of the atomic bombing. The construction work will proceed from the East Building to the Main Building, with a full opening of the museum set for April 2018. Although the exhibits will be scaled back through the duration of the project, the museum will remain open throughout the year, except for the year-end and New Year’s holidays.
After the renovation, the Main Building will consist of four zones: the disastrous conditions of August 6; the damage caused by the bomb’s radiation; belongings left behind by A-bomb victims; and information on how A-bomb survivors have struggled to survive since the atomic bombing. For each zone, the focus will be on “authentic artifacts,” such as stone steps etched with a human shadow, caused by the heat rays, and a burned, charred tricycle. The city plans to remove the mannequins, presently on display, which represent figures of A-bomb survivors in the aftermath of the bombing.
The entrance and exit will both be located on the first floor of the East Building. Visitors to the museum will first go to the third floor via a newly-installed escalator in the East Building. After touring the Main Building, they will return to the East Building to learn about the history behind the atomic bombing, the reconstruction of Hiroshima, and the current state of nuclear weapons in the world.
The work begins with the renovation of the interior of the basement in the East Building. From this fall to the end of fiscal 2015, the East Building will be closed and work to install the escalator will proceed. In fiscal 2016 and 2017, the Main Building will be closed to move forward with the seismic retrofitting work.
This is the first full renovation effort since the East Building opened in 1994, and the total cost is budgeted at 5.7 billion yen. An official at the city’s Peace Promotion Division said that the focus will be on displaying real artifacts and making the sorrow and suffering of the people more readily understood.
(Originally published on March 18, 2014)
