Library in the Earth

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Plowing the fields on sunny days and reading books on rainy days... Library in the Earth is for such people. The site is located in a corner of KURKKU FIELDS operated by an agricultural production corporation. The flat and dry land was sitting on top of a valley filled with construction debris. We aimed to restore the lush valley that leads to the pond that farmers called Mother Pond, and believed that the architecture should not occupy the cultivated soil layer, but rather exist humbly under the flourishing of plants and microorganisms in the soil. The earth has been regarded as the source of all life and a symbol of motherhood. Our wish was to make a small cleft in the earth, and create a tranquil place suitable for farmers to rest.

傾斜地に谷筋と森を復活させ、その下に図書館を埋める計画とした。 photo

We planned to restore the valley's landscape and forest on the sloping land, concealing the library beneath it.

大地と一体化した、非オブジェクト的な建築を目指した。 photo

We aimed to design an architecture that seamlessly integrates with the earth's surroundings.

The cleft looks like a water drop when viewed from above. As you wonder into the approach and pass through the plowed ground, a corridor of bookshelves appears. Architectural elements such as beams and columns have been eliminated, while the concrete void slabs cantilever out from the outer retaining walls and wing walls. The floor, walls, and ceiling all have an earthen finish and connect smoothly, and the lawn that has been planted up to the vertical edge of the slab hangs down lushly and gives the space a sense of dampness. This detail allows for the balance of irrigation and water retention to be adjusted according to the season.

雫型の中庭を囲むように配置された本棚の隙間に、読書のための空間を設けた。壁裏は設備スペースとして活用し、壁内の結露を防ぐために空気の循環を確保している。 photo

Spaces for reading are crafted amidst the bookshelves encircling the drop-shaped courtyard. The wall's rear serves as equipment space, ensuring adequate air circulation to prevent condensation within.

屋根は厚さ300ミリのボイドスラブで、外周の土留め壁とそれに直交する壁だけで支えることで、訪問者に柱梁等の建築的な要素を感じさせない計画である。 photo

The 300mm thick void slab roof is supported entirely by the perimeter earth-retaining wall and the perpendicular walls. This design allows visitors to experience the space without encountering architectural elements such as columns and beams.

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大地の裂け目を奥に、一面の本棚が隠れている。 photo

Behind the cleft in the land, full-length bookshelves are hidden.

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傾斜地を切り抜いた本のコリドー。子どもがぎりぎり入ることができる天井高1.3mから先を内部とし、本棚にベンチ、ソファ、デスクを組み込んだ。 photo

The book corridor is carved into the sloping site, beginning with a ceiling height of 1.3 meters, inviting children to enter and extending into the interior. Integrated within the bookshelves are benches, a sofa, and desks.

本を引き抜くと、本の世界に迷い込むような万華鏡が現れる本箱。 photo

When you pull out a book, a kaleidoscope appears and invites you into a wonderland of books.

5本の脚で支えあう、レシプロカル構造の特注スツール。 photo

Original stool with a reciprocal structure supported by five legs.

ピンホールカメラ状の天窓から空の表情を感じる。 photo

The top light, which uses the principle of a pinhole camera, gives a viewer a sense of the sky's expression.

カーテンを閉めると、本の上を刻々と美しい雲が流れてる。 photo

When the room is darkened, beautiful clouds drift over the table every moment.

ときおり空を仰ぎながら天気を読み、自然と人の営みに思いを馳せる書斎。 photo

The study where one can occasionally look up at the sky, read the weather, and ponder the workings of nature and human.

万華鏡の効果を応用したトップライトにより、太陽や葉の動きを増幅させている。 photo

The movement of the sun and foliage is amplified by the top light, which applies a kaleidoscope effect.

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The ceiling heights inside are determined by the slope of the ground, so there are areas with low ceilings and small hidden rooms that only children can enter. At the deepest part, there is a hall for storytelling. In the womb-like space that uplifts the lawned ground, folds of bookshelves surround the stepped seats, and books from the collections of farm workers and books for children line up.

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The 40mm-thick vertical frames of the bookshelves extend overhead to support the space. When a thin vertical beam supports the next one, and that vertical beam is also supported by its neighbor, a large space can be supported as a whole when the repetition makes a circle. At the end of the chain of reciprocal support, a social space arises that cannot be created by strong individuals alone.

横桟は円を描きながら上昇するように配置し、視線をトップライトに誘う。 photo

The horizontal piers are arranged in a circular pattern, as if ascending towards the overhead light.

このレシプロカル構造は、プレカットした複雑な仕口を全て組み終わなければ構造として成立しないため、建て方は困難を極めた。 photo

The construction of this reciprocal structure was challenging because all of the complex pre-cut joints had to be assembled before completion.

トップライトは開閉式で、中庭側から取り入れた空気をトップライトから抜く、自然重力換気のエコシステムを持つ。 photo

The top light is retractable and features a natural gravity ventilation system that draws air in from the courtyard and expels it outwards.

The top light at the center of the structure, which symbolizes the agricultural community of KURKKU FIELDS, frames a view that resembles the earth covered in blue sky and clouds. It is a library that thinks of the earth while being embraced in the wisdom of the earth and human beings.

本のコリドーの照明は、引き出すと光量を調整できる本型照明のみで照らす計画とした。 photo

The book corridor's lighting was designed to be illuminated solely by book-shaped lights that can be pulled out and adjusted for intensity.

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Completion
2022.04
Principal use
Library
Structure
RC+T
Site area
743㎡
Total floor area
113㎡
Building site
2503 Yana, Kisarazu, Chiba
Structure design
Kanebako Structural Engineers
Construction
SUMITOMO FORESTRY CO.,LTD.
Landscape
SOLSO
Team
Soichiro Takai, Takumi Shido, Ayami Hisa