Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station
Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop · Hiroshima, Japan · 2000
Riken Yamamoto wraps the fire station in glass louvers so the normally hidden routines of emergency services become visible from the street. Training spaces, offices and public areas are organized around a tall internal atrium, while an exhibition lobby and visitor terrace deliberately invite the community inside. The building is a clear expression of Yamamoto's long-standing interest in transparency and the social role of public architecture.