sendai mediatheque principles and services japanese sendai mediatheque (smt) provides a base for activities related to art

and films, as well as public facilities that help people communicate with each other freely and smoothly through various media. in order to achieve this purpose, smt has prepared the following services and programs, developed from its concept. concept sendai mediatheque flexibly serves the needs of people by supplying the latest knowledge and culture. sendai mediatheque maximizes networking potentials not through terminals but nodes. sendai mediatheque serves all people including the impaired, users, providers, and people of different languages and cultures, through freeing them of all barriers. services the space for presentation, such as gallery and theater, is provided. artworks and film works are exhibited for people to appreciate. the space for activities, such as studio and workshop, is provided. media-oriented lifelong education and cultural activities are promoted. information-oriented support and voluntary activities, such as helping the disabled use its devices, are encouraged. workshops related to production of visual/digital contents and media are arranged. the latest knowledge and information are supplied. the sendai shimin library this library is divided into the following genres and purposes: art/culture, focuses on researches on art and culture film/sound library designed for the disabled of vision and hearing audio-visual materials for educational purposes the environments, in which anyone can collect, accumulate, edit, and dispatch information, are provided.

programs exhibitions, film screenings and workshops related to art, films, and media are

arranged. educational promotion and voluntary activities are supported so that all people

including the disabled can use media freely. cooperation with many people to collect information and store digital records in

archives is encouraged. collaboration with outside libraries and various organizations is developed.

sendai mediatheque architectural features japanese structural system

the building is composed of 13 independent steel-ribbed shafts (tubular columns: mainly steel-tube truss construction) and 7 steel-ribbed slabs ("honeycomb"slabs: sandwiched steel-plate construction), giving each floor a different floorplan. basement (b1) structures feature seismic energy-absorbing mechanisms. climatization system

upper vents on double glass ("double skin") south facade reduce air-conditioning costs. opening the vents in summer creates a cooling updraft; closing the vents in winter creates an insulating layer of air to seal in heat. tubes for light wells, ducts, vertical mobility

the tubular column structures serve as light wells, with rooftop devices to reflect sunlight down the tubes into the building. and also as vertical connector "pipelines"for network cables, wiring, elevators and stairways. data site area: 3,948.72m building area: 2,933.12m total floor area: 21,682.15m max height: 36.49m size: 2 floors below ground + 7 floors above ground + rooftop structure: steel-ribbed with partial reinforced concrete (rc) construction construction: 17 dec 1997-10 aug 2000 construction cost: approx 13 billion yen opening: 26 jan 2001

announcement: changes of services with our refurbishment after seven years since mediatheque opened, we have refurbished each floor to enhance functions of creative activities and have relocated and upgraded the equipment on the occasion of upgrading our systems.

major changes of the refurbishment each floors function is more convenient thanks to our refurbishing operation. the multimedia library and educational material library on the 7th floor have relocated to the 2nd floor. library functions have been grouped together on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors, making library functions more accessible to users. the inquiry counter (for facility-use requests) has relocated to the 7th floor. the creative activities and data transmission areas were consolidated and moved from the 5th floor to the 7th floor. on the 7th floor, studio functions have been enhanced to produce local culture media and present it. the area for information exchange has been encouraging cultural discussion and creative activities.

tube no.5 in the southeast corner used to be unavailable but has now been opened with access to the stairwell. you can enjoy the fascination of world-class famous architecture and special contents only at sendai mediatheque.

as of our reopening, mediatheque will be promoting itself as a center for creativity. mediatheque aims to be a base of high cultural value and public usefulness, where people share, edit, archive and dispatch information to the world. this renewal has created a flexible space for activities designed to revitalize communities and provide prosperity for your lives. we would like to set up dedicated open areas which can be reserved for non-business use with all of you.

major changes include: inquiry counter inquiry counter (for facility-use requests) has relocated to the 7th floor. some rental equipment for gallery and meeting room use have also been upgraded. the multimedia library the multimedia library has moved to the 2nd floor. educational materials and subtitled materials are available at inquiries on the 2nd floor. in-house viewing and listening is available until 8 p.m. browsing lounge existing information browsing lounge service is no longer available. we will provide information as below by touch-screen information search terminals which are placed on each floor. information search on the internet facility usage guide (rental facilities, library, multimedia library, studio, etc.) building guide event information inside the building *you may not play games and send e-mail because of the read-only terminals. *there is no change to the opening time of browsing the latest newspapers and magazines though the layout of their shelves has been changed. studio some studio areas and their names have been changed. our studio equipment has upgraded hardware and software. *hdv camera, hdv player, macintosh, finalcutstudio2, ability to shoot and edit nonlinear films. *macintosh creativesuite3 to edit various designs.

planning for the "sendai mediatheque" began in 1994. at the beginning, plans called for a multifunctional facility comprised of a library, gallery, visual media center that also contained services to aid the sight-and hearing-impaired. subsequently, plans changed so that instead of simply being a "mixed-use" facility, it was intended to encompass a larger sphere of functions that would allow the facility to operate as a unified "mediatheque" with common goals to respond to a continuously changing information environment and users' diverse needs. the "sendai mediatheque will gather, preserve, exhibit, and present various forms of media without being bound to form or type. this public facility for the 21st century will, through its various functions and services, be able to support the cultural and educational activities of its users. On Friday March 11, 2011 at about 2:46pm a massive earthquake occurred in the northeastern region of Japan. Our deepest sympathy goes out to our relatives, friends and victims. We would like to express our deepest thanks from the bottom of our hearts those who work day and night without sleep or rest to rescue victims and maintaining the refuge shelters. Our building sustained damage from this earthquake, but we are pleased to announce that patrons and staff could evacuate safely. We are trying to assess damage and trying to remove and repair any dangerous items, and we reopened on Tuesday May 3. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

Sendai Mediatheque The Sendai Mediatheque is a proposal for architecture withnew view for program. This project was completed in August 2000, about five and a half years after the open competition was held by Sendai City in 1995. This facility contains an art gallery, library, a visual image media center and a service center for people with visual or hearing disabilities. From the time of competition and through the basic design process, our prime objective was to destroy conventional archetypes such as art museums or libraries; we carefully analyzed each program, eventually recomposing them to create a mediatheque. Therefore, the basic plans were developed through consultation with specialist from various fields and through numerous hearings to exchange opinions with Sendais citizens. Since such discussions are endless, flexibility is required in the architectural hardware that can respond to any development or can accommodate any program in the future. We have not changed our idea since the time of competition rather than a formalist architecture, ours is simple yet conceptual proposal consisting of three elements: plate, tube, and skin.The mediateque, composed of these three simple elements, will serve as a place to unify the primitive human body connected to nature with the body that is part of the fluid electronic world. This project took six years to complete and eventually opened at the end of January 2001 as a symbol of public

space for the citizens of Sendai. With a lively atmosphere like an urban plaza, it now attracts up to 4 ,000 people every day Sendai Mediatheque Location : Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., Japan Client : Sendai City Principal Use :library, gallery, theatre Design : Apr. 1995 - Aug.1997 Construction : Dec. 1997 - Aug. 2000 Main Structure :Steel frame, reinforced concrete Site Area : 3,948.72 m2 Building Area : 2,933.12 m2 Total Floor Area : 21,682.15 m2 Scale of Building: 7 stories and 2 basements Maximum Height: 36.49m Architect : Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects Structural Engineers : Sasaki Structural Consultants Mechanical Engineers : ES Associates, Sogo Consultants+ Otaki E&M Consultants Lighting Design : LIGHT DESIGN INC. General Contractor : JV of Kumagai + Takenaka + Ando + Hashimoto