一級建築士事務所 seki.design / セキデザイン

Sumaura Library

top photo

Architecture never lost in town

Sumaura Library is a picture-book library presided privately by our client, Mr. Masaki Hayashi. Over years and years, he had shared his books with local kids to have them enjoy feeling the books close.

A place for kids to take picture books in their hands and for parents to communicate with each other ------ the library was renewed to commemorate his such activities of 30 years.

《Awarded the Kobe City Urban Design Award 2011》

北東からの俯瞰:
町のなかに埋もれない、力強い建築をめざしました。手前には緑豊かな空地が

Space configurations

  • A site like an arena stage ---- This site is exposed in many directions since it is surrounded by roads on three sides, one more road nearby the rest another road nearby on the northern side. On the west, there is a penthouse and a housing complex where the client lives, so it can be seen from above as well. A situation like this is rarely found in an urban district, making it a high-potential area that’s suited for Sumaura Library.
  • From the situation of the area, there was a need to create a three-dimensional architectural work that looked fine when viewed from all directions, including upwards. It was our vision to create an architecture that will not be buried inside the town, even though it is much smaller in size than the other buildings around. We thought that we could make a strong architectural work by forming it as a dug-out ore instead of sticking with the normal horizontal and vertical shape, the building will look impressive seen from any direction.
  • The idea for the shape of the “ore” shown in the floor plan came from a ship; sea is something deeply related to this building – the site is located near the sea, and we met the client on a cruising ship. He has a wish for the kids to read a lot of books and to be brought into a fantasy world on this “ark”, and a prayer for their experiences in this library to nurture their creativity and sensibility.

平面図

北面外観1:
船の舳先をイメージした造形です。子供たちを知識と想像力の海へ誘います

北面外観2:
屋根・壁はおりがみのように平面だけで構成されています

南面外観:
すまうら文庫発起とほぼ同時期に埋められたドングリ。現在はそれが大きなクヌギの樹として育ち、地域住民からもシンボルツリーとして愛されるように。その樹をウッドデッキで囲んでいます

北西からの俯瞰:
屋根と壁は同一素材で、力強いひとつの「塊」を表現しています

絵本ルーム:
30年間に収集された5200冊の絵本が壁一面に並びます。照明はモアレ現象を利用したグラフィカルで遊びのあるデザインの間接照明を用いました。子供のスケールに合わせた窓からは緑豊かな空地を望むことができます

お話コーナー:
週末に企画される「おはなしの会」では、ランプの灯火のもと絵本が朗読され、子供たちを物語の世界へといざないます。普段は自由な格好で絵本を読む子供たちの姿が

談話ルーム:
クヌギの優しい木洩日が差す、大人たちの交流スペース。地域の情報を交換し、子育ての悩みの解決の場となるでしょう

南面夕景:
すまうら文庫と同じ歳、樹齢30年のクヌギと、新たな建物が互いを際立たせています

石畳路地からの夕景:
迫り来るような壁が、歩行者に動的な印象を与えます

photo: akiyoshi fukuzawa