For Today’s Japan Photo, we will travel to Miyagi Prefecture to visit the Sendai Mediatheque, a really cool library that is designed by Toyo Ito, one of the world’s most influential designers.
Sendai Mediatheque is a multi-purpose cultural centre made with steel tubular lattice structures. The building glows artifically from within and contains a library, art gallery, audio-visual library, film studio, and cafe. Through a series of extraordinary technical advances – floors supported by a system of occupiable hollow tubes and sophisticated information and media networks – the building creates an environment in which people can engage in cultural activities both internally, within the structure, and externally, through digital connections to the world at large.
Thirteen steel-ribbed shafts soar from the basement through seven floors to the open rooftop. Not only do these columns provide the necessary foundations and stability for the building but they also act as light wells, with devices positioned on the roof to reflect sunlight into the building. They are also vertical connectors for network cables and all of the building’s wiring. The two floors below ground, meanwhile, feature additional high tech mechanisms to absorb any potential seismic energy should an earthquake hit. Upper vents on the glass south facade reduce the need for air conditioning.
Image Credit: Mark Liddell
