Kitakata City Hall
7244-2 Oshimizuhigashi, Kitakata, Fukushima, JAPAN
Citizens' square as a symbol of integration, merger of 5 municipalities
| Architect | Furuya Nobuaki+NASCA |
|---|---|
| Usage | City Hall |
| Structure | RC+PCa+S |
| Size | 4F |
| Site area | 10,535m2 |
| Area | 7,692m2 |
| Completion | 2015.08 |
| Award | First Prize, Open Design Competition 2011; Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Award 2017; Second Prize Fukushima Architectural Culture Award 2017 |
| Publishing | Shinkenchiku 2015.09 |
A competition proposal for a new city hall in Kitakata City, Fukushima. Kitakata City was merged from five cities and towns. The current city hall was small, old, and not well organized; therefore, we planned to rebuild the new city hall on the same site. Using the shape of the site, I proposed a somewhat flat surfaced deformed pentagon-shape for the overall design of the building. Also, I designed the structure in such a way as to allow the north side of the building to get as much sunlight as possible, which would help to melt snow away during the winter season. For this proposal, I designed the main building of the new city hall in the northern part of the exsiting building. The main hall is also shaped in the form of a pentagon and would be added to the design after demolition of the existing hall. I designed the pre-stressed concrete outer wall structure in such a way as to blend and fit into the surrounding Kitakata landscape. Between the two buildings is a rather large open space that is covered with a glass roof. Special thought was given to the design of this space to be used during times of disaster even when there is heavy snow or rain fall.
Photos: Asakawa Satoshi