Sendai Mediatheque
Toyo Ito & Associates · Sendai, Japan · 2001
Toyo Ito replaces conventional columns and service cores with thirteen irregular lattice tubes that rise through transparent floor plates. Structure, circulation, daylight and building services are concentrated in these vertical elements, allowing the public floors to remain unusually open and adaptable. The glass facade exposes the changing activity inside, making the building both an influential structural experiment and a highly accessible urban living room.