Biblioteca Umimirai en Kanazawa
30/03/2012.
Por Coelacanth K&H Architects Inc. [Kanazawa] Japón. [VIDEO] por Tramnesia
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
Comencé a traducir el texto, pero era tan bueno, que he preferido dejarlo tal cual en inglés. Es una poética y bella reflexión sobre la idea de barcos navegando, mares y bibliotecas. De las bibliotecas en Japón y de cómo la lectura del papel va desapareciendo poco a poco. ¡¡Te lo recomiendo!!
The building is a large white box perforated with hole-punched windows that light up the interiors naturally in the day and at night glow out like portholes of a giant ship. There is a maritime feel to the place, probably unintended, or maybe since it was designed by a firm whose name evokes the ancient deep sea the contrary feelings of floating and drifting and being submerged are all by design. We could easily imagine how much we’d love coming here if this were our local, an airy place with soft, diffused light that lends room to learn, daydream, and to remember. Song lyrics echo in the mind: “...and our friends are all aboard / many more of them live next door...” It’s a peaceful, sublime place, this literary submarine.
The main reading room with its 40-foot ceilings provides a grand scale that all great libraries have, from the NYPL on Fifth Avenue to Suzzallo on the University of Washington campus. In fact, we liked Umimirai so much more than that other notable library in Seattle -- Rem Koolhaas’ central library -- a dazzling structure, no doubt, but a place that’s more like a puzzle than a place to retreat. Once you get past the spectacle of its punctured skin, the Umimirai Library is a comfortably traditional place. It’s no wonder the library is filled with young children, the elderly, and students -- a library’s most loyal patrons. Sure there are modern features like glassed-in cellphone booths and self-service checkout stations. But we were most envious of the spacious newspaper reading room -- an old man’s joy -- with its canted desks, localized lighting, and drawers full of past days. Japan is a nation where the newspaper is still very much a part of everyday life, and that Coelacanth featured this reality underscores the success of its design and their intent to insinuate the library into the community’s daily activities.
For us, so much about Japan feels like a bizarro alternate reality where -- like with the newspaper that’s disappearing everywhere else -- the rest of the world moves right while Japan turns left. This library feels no different. These days, investing in a new library seems like a counter-intuitive act where, at least in the U.S., branch libraries close one-by-one and already meager budgets continue to be slashed. It’s impossible, laughable even, to imagine our cramped Chinatown branch being replaced by the gleaming Umimirai Library ... which says everything about this library and this town and why we love Japan so much. It feels like a luxury that a space like this was newly built, a sign that that the city believes in its people, that believes the act of reading is worth investing in, that believes these things will continue to matter in the future and that it’s important for these people and activities to come together in an inspiring and provocative space.
(Texto por Tramnesia.)
Arquitectos: Coelacanth K&H Architects / Kazumi KUDO + Hiroshi HORIBA
Equipo de diseño: Ingenieria de Estructuras: Structural Design Office OAK - Ingenieria de Instalaciones: Electricas: Setsubikeikaku, Maquinaria: Scientific Air-conditioning Institute - Supervisión: Kazumi Kudo + Hiroshi Horiba / Coelacanth K&H Architects - Diseño de interior: Fujie Kazuko Atelier (Furniture), Koizumi Lighting Technology (Lighting) - Diseño de paisaje: Soichiro Tsukamoto Architecte de Paysages (Basic Design). Estructura: Steel frame, reinforced concrete (partly)
Cliente : Kanazawa City
Diseño de proyecto: August 2008 to June 2009 - Construcción: September 2009 to March 2011.
Area de parcela: 11,763.43 m2 • Area construida en planta: 2,311.91 m2 • Superficie construida total: 5,641.90 m2 (469.06 m2 B1P, 2,071.89 m2 1P, 2,065.79 m2 2F, 832.23 m2 3P)
La idea era generar un entorno para experimentar el placer de la lectura, rodeado por una presencia física abrumadora de libros. Se propuso un espacio de 45 x 45 m, con una altura 12 metros, rodeado por un muro perforado y apoyado en 25 pilares.
Kazumi Kudo+Hiroshi Horiba. Fundan Coelacanth en 1986. En 1998 reorganizan la oficina como Coelacanth K&H Architects.
Kazumi KUDO
1960 Nació en Fukuoka, Japón.
1983 Internship en Suiza.
1985 Título de arquitecta por la Universidad Nacional de Yokohama.
1985 Internship en Los Países Bajos.
1986 Funda Coelacanth Architects Inc.
1987 Master en arquitectura por la Universidad de Tokio.
En la actualidad: Director de Coelacanth K&H Architects Inc. y Profesora en la Universidad de Toyo.
Hiroshi HORIBA
1960 Nació en Tokio, Japón.
1983 Título de arquitecto por el Instituto de Tecnología de Musashi.
1986 Master en arquitectura por la Universidad de Tokio.
1986 Funda Coelacanth Architects Inc.
En la actualidad: Director de Coelacanth K&H Architects Inc. y Profesor en la Universidad de la Ciudad de Tokio.