Kanazawa Umimirai Library

Japan Design Consultants Association (JDCA) Review

In 2012, the Kanazawa Umimirai Library was selected as one of the world’s 25 most beautiful public libraries. Three floors and a large vault are positioned inside a 45m × 45m × 19m cuboid patterned with multiple apertures. The general reading rooms are located on the second and third floors while nearly sixty percent of the building’s northern side comprises a vault with a 12m tall ceiling. Direct sunlight enters the building through the apertures in its perforated wall before the library opens and for a few hours during early evening; further, the ceramic print treatment of the glass protects the polka-dot shades from being reflected inside. Six thousand apertures secure sufficient daylight while creating a sense of comfort and rendering the environment appropriate for reading.

Architectural design: Coelacanth K&H Architects, Furniture design: Kazuko Fujie
Award: IIDA Best of Asia Pacific Design Awards,  BCS Prize by Japan Federation of Construction Contractors, Good Design Award 2012, JIA Prize 2012