Library Buildings around the World

Kuwana Media Library – Japan 2004
9.114 m²
Kisai Education Center (Life-long Learning Facility), Kisai – Japan 2003
3.572 m²
Izumi City Plaza – Japan 2002
24.544 m²
Ako City Library – Japan 2001
3.316 m²
Kurume City Life-long Learning Center – Japan 2000
10.106 m²
Life-long Learning Facility, Hall , Library , Community facilities, Training facilities
Central Library, Oyama – Japan 1993
Literature:
De la imatge. Autor: mirai [Consulta: 29 d'agost de 2009]
“Oyama City Central Library”. En: Libraries: new concepts in architectural & design. Meisei Publishing, cop. 1995. ISBN 4-
938812-11-8, p. 50-55.
Obra de l’equip d’arquitectes AXS Satow Inc., la Biblioteca Central de la ciutat d’Oyama s’inaugurà l’abril de 1993. Té 5.199m2,
distribuïts en tres plantes més un soterrani. Te capacitat per a 160.000 volums en accés obert, i per a 240.000 en dipòsits. Acull, a
més, 220 punts de lectura. Disposa de dues entrades: una principal, que dóna a un parc; i una de secundària, abocada a una
carretera, i pensada més per a l’accés rodat a l’edifici. En l’entrada principal, hi trobem una escultura de Shimon Saito anomenada
“Red Cube”, i que serveix de vincle i de nexe d’unió entre l’interior i l’exterior.
Shigeru Ban Architects, Tokyo – Japan
http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com
Libraries:
Seikei University Library, Tokyo – Japan 2006
A traditional library is defined as a quiet place for study, yet the new Seikei University Library defines a new idea that embraces all
forms of communication and information exchange. The large glazed transparent atrium located in the center of the building
accommodates several free standing pods for gathering and information exchange. (Ban)
Library of a Poet, Zushi, Kanagawa – Japan 1991
This was Shigeru Ban’s first paper tube building. The bookshelves form the walls and absorb wind loads, allowing the paper tube to
form the main structure. The shelves were insulated in the factory and treated on the outside to be outside walls. The paper tubes are
10cm in diameter and 12.5mm thick. They utilise a grid pattern to create the building form. They are kept inside and so are not
exposed to the elements. The wooden joints are formed on 10x10cm timber cubes which the paper tubes slot onto and are bolted to.
The details of this are shown in the images below.
(http://clarewashington.co.uk/2012/12/10/shigeru-ban-building-with-paper-library-of-a-poet)
Coelacanth K+H Architects, Tokyo – Japan
Kazumi Kudo, Hiroshi Horiba
http://www.coelacanth-kandh.co.jp
Libraries:
Kanazawa Umimirai Library, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture – Japan 2011
Site area 11.763.43 ㎡, Building area 2.311.91 ㎡, Total floor area 5,641. 90㎡
A library for the future
Reading – for the sake of knowledge or enjoyment, or to explore the world of the human imagination – is one of those experiences
that gives you a sense of emotional and spiritual richness quite different from economic or monetary well-being. In this sense, the act
of creating a space that surrounds you with books is undoubtedly linked to the creation of a new, enriched sense of public values.
Libraries in Japan are moving towards a model that encourages readers to stay and linger, instead of their original function as
spaces for collecting and lending out books. Reflecting the general trend for libraries to facilitate reading as well as other functions,
this library uses compact automated shelves that operate as a closed stack system. This is combined with halls and meeting rooms
that promote social exchange between its users, much like a community center. The facility is also expected to serve as a new hub for
social life among the local community.
For a public library such as this, we thought that the most important thing to have would be a reading room that provides visitors
with a pleasant, comfortable space to read. This environment would allow users to experience the joy of reading while surrounded by
a treasure trove of books with a overwhelming physical presence, something that the convenience of electronic and digital books
cannot offer. For this project, we proposed a simple space measuring 45m by 45m with a height of about 12m, enclosed by a
“punching wall” and supported by 25 pillars that would function as a storehouse for books and a hub for human communication.
This huge, massive volume served as a reading space in keeping with the mood and setting of a library. What we wanted to do, in
other words, was to design a certain “atmosphere” for books and reading. This library consists of a single quiet and tranquil room
that resembles a forest, filled with soft light and a feeling of openness reminiscent of the outdoors. One successful example of such a
spaceis the old Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library) in Paris designed byHenri Labrouste, a masterpiece that was built using
the most advanced steel construction technologies of the 19 th century. The building represents a continuous relationship that brings
books and humans together even as it changes and evolves, transcending time and history. This simple box-like form also contains
within it a certain freedom, however: this is a space that permits a composite mix of various media that will continue to change and
evolve against the backdrop of an information-centered age. The overall structure of the library resembles an internal three-layered
floor covered with a large box that we refer to as a “cake box”. The large external “punching wall” in the cavernous reading room
features some 6,000 small openings (measuring 200, 250 and 300mm) across its entire surface that allow a soft, uniform light to enter
the building. In addition, the burden of seismic force from any earthquakes is born across the entire expanse of this wall. A floor
heating system that warms and cools the building under the floor has been installed in order to make this large space comfortable to
inhabit, while large natural ventilation openings in the roof ensure a pleasant and comfortable indoor environment during the
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