The Gates of Peace
 2005 | Hiroshima
TECHNICAL INFORMATIONS

The "Gates of Peace” monument is located within the precinct of the site dedicated to the memory of the Hiroshima catastrophe. It consists of ten nine-metre high arches made of transparent glass spread over a square of engraved stones.
The 10 gates, placed at intervals along Peace Boulevard, are positioned to recall the rhythm of architect Kenzo Tange's Memorial situated just opposite. The symmetric positioning of the gates and of the existing structure establishes a dialogue between the two monuments and creates a tension between the two sides of Hiroshima City's main road, in line with the dome that stigmatises the power of the bomb.
The “Gates of Peace” memorial implies the notion of movement, of a crossing, to portray the idea of memory as a continuity, not as a fixed moment in time.
The graphism created by the repetition of the word "peace" in forty-nine languages and eighteen alphabets adds to the notion of continuity. The endless lines round the pillars of the arches reinforce this image. On the ground, the huge, almost illegible words give a dimension of timelessness, of infinity to the monument.

Technical Data :

Height of the Gates: 9 metres
Outer width: 2.60 metres
Depth: 1.60 metres.
Length of the Cardoso stone square: 90 metres
Width of the square: 5.30 metres
The graphism is negative on the outer façades of the arches and positive on the inner framework. Each gate is erected on ten- to thirty-metre long micro-piles to resist all weather conditions and earthquakes. Each gate is lit up by 20 powerful projectors built into the base of the building.

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