2022
Location: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Construction client: Ishikawa Prefectural Office
Architectural Design: Mitsuru Senda + ENVIROMENT DESIGN INSTITUTE
Furniture and fixture design: KAWAKAMI DESIGN ROOM
Sign plan: Hiromura Design Office
Lighting plan : Lighting planners Associates
Exhibition plan : TOTAL MEDIA

Photos:
ookura hideki (KUROME photo studio)
Nacasa & Partners Inc.
Mitsumasa Fujitsuka (helico)

The circulating slopes and tiered main reading spaces are exciting and offer high accessibility, making them easy to approach, even for wheelchair users.

In the reading areas around the bookshelves on each floor, large tables, carrels, booth seats, and silent rooms are provided.

When selecting chairs, the criteria were not uniform, but included epoch-making pieces, existing pieces, those designed specifically for this library, and those with symbolic use. The goal was to create an authentic environment suitable for the highly cultured area, taking into consideration the overall harmony of the library. Approximately 500 various chairs have been chosen from the user’s perspective to enrich the fundamental library activities of “enjoying books, searching for knowledge, and thinking with books.”

The interior is color-coded using the Kaga Gosai (the five basic colors used in Kaga Yuzen) for each of the east, west, south, and north areas. The furniture is also selected with the same color scheme as each area, and by individually selecting the upholstery for each piece, a sense of unity is created in the area.