University Library Tama by Toyo Ito

The project of the freshly completed new library for Tama Art University has been in development since 2004. The most comprehensive information about this building can be found in a+u 417. Before Ito came up with the idea of giant concrete arches resembling ancient vaults, he toyed with both amoebic shapes and purely cubic forms, or even completely burying the library underground. Once he was assured of the correctness of the idea of giant arches, the phase of searching for order, or rather chaos, in the vaulting system began.
The library program for the art school consists of two above-ground floors (each with an area of 2200 m²) with facilities in the basement covering an area of 1300 m². Since the plot is located in a seismically active area of Hachioji City in Tokyo, great attention was paid to the foundations during the design phase. Additionally, 2/3 of the entire first floor is sloped, which according to Ito's research, most people won't even notice, or at least it won't limit the use of the building in any way. The structural interest is provided by Ito's chief engineer Mutsuro Sasaki, who has his own exhibition at AA until 23.03.2007. Link>