Tama Art University Library (Hachioji)
Toyo Ito & Associates · Hachioji, Japan · 2007
Toyo Ito fills the library with a field of thin concrete arches whose changing widths and intersections organize circulation without conventional corridors. The sloping ground floor follows the campus terrain, allowing furniture, stacks and study areas to occupy a continuous landscape. From a distance the building appears calm and repetitive; inside, the irregular arch geometry produces a much more fluid and ambiguous spatial experience.