fireproof housing, Shirahige-Higashi

Park facing apartment block, Shirahige-Higashi

As part of our tour of Mukojima, we had the opportunity to see the incredible inhabited firewall of the Shirahige-Higashi park and apartment complex. Since Mukojima is considered highly susceptible to fires and seismic activity, this complex was designed in the 1970's to serve as a point of refuge for over 100,000 evacuees from the surrounding area. 

The buildings themselves are an 18-block complex of reinforced concrete, steel shutters, and fire cannons. A very unique response to an ongoing issue in Tokyo. I thought it was a strange enough place to warrant an entry in the Atlas Obscura, so I just made one today. Any Pratt students with something to add should feel free to edit my entry!