MIKAMI architects tops tonami public library with a giant wooden roof

MIKAMI architects has completed a new library building in japan’s toyama prefecture. the design of the ‘tonami public library’ references the region’s wooden azumachi farmhouses, which occupy the picturesque plains that surround the site. with this in mind, the architects developed the project as an open plan space housed beneath a large timber roof. the design also engages with the street that runs parallel to the building’s west facing façade.

all images by koji horiuchi

here, thanks to floor-to-ceiling glazing, the library’s interior remains visible from the street. meanwhile, MIKAMI architects designed the roof to serve as a new landmark for the city of tonami with a scale an size that responds naturally to its context. the interior of the space is also defined by the distinctive canopy, with the dramatic pitch of the roof channeling light into the entirety of the space.

upon entering the library, visitors are welcomed into an open plan hall that contains an information kiosk, a reading room, a curved magazine rack, and a children’s area. other more separate spaces include a multipurpose reading room, meeting rooms, a nursery room, and offices. meanwhile, an upper level accommodates additional reading and study areas with an archive also housed on site. ‘from children to the elderly, every visitor to the library will be enveloped in the warmth of wood and the soft natural light that streams in through the high windows,’ says MIKAMI architects.

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project info:

name: tonami public library
location: toyama prefecture, japan
client: tonami city
completion year: 2020
building use: public library
structure: RC+S
gross built area: 2,819.48 sqm / 30,348.63 sqf
total floor area: 3,342.62 sqm / 35,979.66 sqf

architects: MIKAMI architects (representative) | oshida architects & engineers co.,ltd.
chief architect: kazuhiko mashiko (MIKAMI architects chief architect)
design architect: taketoshi tomita, manabu masaki, natsumi koma (MIKAMI architects) | yukio hamagata (oshida architects & engineers co.,ltd.)
structural engineer: kuramochi katsumi, yusuke kawamata (MIKAMI architects)
facility engineer: akeno facility resilience inc. | masayuki okumura (oshida architects & engineers co.,ltd.)
lighting design: reiko chikada lighting design inc.
photography: koji horiuchi