Musashino Art University Museum & Library, Tokyo
Sou Fujimoto Architects 

Musashino Art University Museum & Library, Tokyo

Sou Fujimoto Architects 


The project for the new Musashino Art University Library – one of the most distinguished art libraries in Japan – can be defined as a linear container of books that could, potentially, be extended indefinitely, folding and folding to form an angular and labyrinthian spiral. Acting as a huge ark, the collection of 200.000 volumes is divided into two areas: half of them are kept in a deposit and the rest are distributed in a linear container that, following a concentric law, gradually piles up the 100.000 volumes of the public area in 10-meter-high walls, perforated asymmetrically so that, when moving through them, one has the impression of being in a forest. In this spiral movement, the bookshelf covers the perimeter of the building, transforming itself, towards the exterior, into a talking facade through which it is possible to perceive the unique mechanism that shapes the library.

Conceptually speaking, the project design takes inspiration from two apparently contradictory ideas: research and exploration, that is, the components that correspond, respectively, to the systemic and haphazard aspects of the action of storing and reading books... [+]


Obra Work

Musashino Art University Museum & Library

Cliente Client

Musashino Art University

Arquitectos Architects

Sou Fujimoto Architects; Sou Fujimoto (encargado principal in charge); Koji Aoki, Naganobu Matsumura, Shintaro Homma, Tomoko Kosami, Takahiro Hata, Yoshihiro Nakazono, Masaki Iwata (equipo de proyecto project team)

Consultores Consultants

Eishi Katsura (asesor adviser); Jun Sato Structural Engineers, Jun Sato, Masayuki Takada (estructuras structural engineers); Kankyo Engineering, Takafumi Wada, Kazunari Ohishima, Hiroshi Takayama (instalaciones MEP); Taku Satoh Design Office, Taku Satoh, Shingo Noma, Kuniaki Demura; Inoue Industries, Takafumi Inoue, Azusa Jin, Yosuke Goto, Hideki Yamazaki (mobiliario y señalética furniture and sign); Sirius Lighting Office, Hirohito Totsune, Koichi Tanaka (iluminación lighting); Camsa, Katsuyuki Haruki (fachada facade); Standard, Keisou Inami (lucernario skylight)  

Contratista Contractor

Taisei Corporation, Tsukasa Sakata (contratista general general contractor)

Superficie parcela Site area

111,691.93 m²

Superficie construida Built-up area

2,883.18 m²

Superficie total Total floor area

6,419.17 m²

Estructura Structure

Retícula de acero y hormigón armado Steel frame, partly reinforced concrete

Uso principal Principal use

Museo y biblioteca Museum & Library

Fotos Photos

Daici Ano, Yoshinori Kuwahara, Sergio Pirrone