Tama Art University Library (Hachiōji campus)
Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan · 2007
Photo · Photo by Tomio Ohashi
A precedent for structural concrete arches forming a curved, fully glazed facade that seamlessly connects interior vaulted spaces with an exterior campus landscape.
- What we like about this project
- The arches taper to remarkably thin profiles where they meet the ground plane.
Materials
- reinforced-concrete
- glass
- steel-frames
Visual identifiers
- concrete-arches
- curved-facade
- vaulted-structure
- glazed-arcade
- toyo-ito
Style tags
- contemporary
- structural-expressionism
- japanese-modernism
Visual tags
- institutional
- library
- structural-expressionism
- fluid-geometry
- dusk-photography
- Geometry
- A gently curved, two-story concrete facade defined by a series of intersecting structural arches of varying spans that create a continuous, fluid arcade.
- Facade system
- Custom steel-framed glazing units set directly into structural concrete arch openings.
- Structural guess
- Self-supporting reinforced concrete arch walls acting as both facade and gravity load-bearing elements.
- Spatial scale
- A monumental two-story institutional building with large-span arches scaled to match the surrounding campus trees.
- Lighting
- Dusk lighting with cool ambient sky light contrasting against the warm, glowing interior illumination that highlights the concrete vaults.
- Atmosphere
- A serene, glowing beacon of light nestled into a quiet campus landscape at twilight.
- Environmental context
- Set within a campus landscape with deciduous trees and a grassy slope in the foreground.
- Spatial experience
- The deep, glazed arches dissolve the boundary between the interior library spaces and the surrounding sloped landscape, offering views of the internal vaulted structure.
- Composition rhythm
- A rhythmic sequence of wide and narrow arches that follow the gentle curve of the building envelope.
- Style reading
- Structural rationalism with organic fluidity
- Program
- University library and study center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- reinforced-concrete, glass, steel-frames
- Visual identifiers
- concrete-arches, curved-facade, vaulted-structure, glazed-arcade, toyo-ito
- Style tags
- contemporary, structural-expressionism, japanese-modernism
- Visual tags
- institutional, library, structural-expressionism, fluid-geometry, dusk-photography
- Geometry
- A gently curved, two-story concrete facade defined by a series of intersecting structural arches of varying spans that create a continuous, fluid arcade.
- Facade system
- Custom steel-framed glazing units set directly into structural concrete arch openings.
- Structural guess
- Self-supporting reinforced concrete arch walls acting as both facade and gravity load-bearing elements.
- Spatial scale
- A monumental two-story institutional building with large-span arches scaled to match the surrounding campus trees.
- Lighting
- Dusk lighting with cool ambient sky light contrasting against the warm, glowing interior illumination that highlights the concrete vaults.
- Atmosphere
- A serene, glowing beacon of light nestled into a quiet campus landscape at twilight.
- Environmental context
- Set within a campus landscape with deciduous trees and a grassy slope in the foreground.
- Spatial experience
- The deep, glazed arches dissolve the boundary between the interior library spaces and the surrounding sloped landscape, offering views of the internal vaulted structure.
- Composition rhythm
- A rhythmic sequence of wide and narrow arches that follow the gentle curve of the building envelope.
- Style reading
- Structural rationalism with organic fluidity
- Program
- University library and study center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture