Akiha Ward Cultural Center / Chiaki Arai Urban And Architecture Design

Architects: Chiaki Arai Urban and Architecture Design
Area: 2,997 m²
Year: 2013
Photography: Taisuke Ogawa
Design Team: Chiaki Arai, Ryoichi Yoshizaki, Tomonori Niimi, Akira Sogo
Acoustical Consultant: Nagata Acoustics
Electrical Services: Sakaden and Yae and Saito joint venture
Air Conditioning: Niigata Kogyo Co.
Contractor: Taisei and Shinko and Tanaka joint venture
Structural Engineer: TIS & PARTNERS
Theater Consultant: Theatre Workshop
Sanitary Services: Nisshin Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Gas Services: Echigotennen Gas Co., Ltd. Niigata branch
Engineering And Air Conditioning: Sogo Consultans
City: Akiha Ward
Country: Japan

The Akiha Ward Cultural Center, designed by Chiaki Arai Urban and Architecture Design in 2013, is a 3,000 m² public theater in Niigata City, Japan. Constructed on a former baseball field, the center’s design incorporates terraced landscapes inspired by the local hills. The building features a 496-seat main hall with acoustics optimized by its concrete structure, which resembles a natural cave. The form of the building, composed of 46 arcs, evolved through extensive community workshops, resulting in a complex and dynamic architectural expression.

Akiha Ward Cultural Center / Chiaki Arai Urban and Architecture Design

Located in a district recognized for its railway industry, the Akiha Ward Cultural Center serves as a long-anticipated cultural hub for the local community. The center not only provides a significant venue for various performances but also embodies the community’s collective vision, enhancing the cultural and social fabric of the area.

The building sits on a former 17,000 m² baseball field, with the structure, landscape, and parking areas organized along the arc of the old baseball diamond to preserve the site’s memory.

The surrounding area is a residential district on flat terrain with a few small hills, inspiring the building’s terraced design, which allows visitors to climb and enjoy panoramic views.

The design was developed through workshop with the local community, leading to the addition of several rooms and functions based on their input. Originally conceived as a precise circular form during the competition phase, the building’s outline evolved into a distorted circular shape composed of 46 different arcs.

The planning diagram is organized in layers, starting with the exterior corridor, followed by the entrance lobby, functional rooms, backstage corridor, and the main hall. This straightforward layout allows rooms such as practice and dressing rooms to be accessible form both the entrance lobby and backstage corridor, enhancing operational flexibility. To reconcile the global formation with the workshop-based planning, the structural concrete walls are bent and twisted to reach balanced support points for the roof slabs.

The main hall resembles a concrete cave beneath a hill. The structural elements themselves serve as acoustic reflectors, utilizing the material’s high density to enhance acoustics by reflecting lower sound ranges that conventional materials would absorb. This design provides a unique experience, evoking the sensation of attending a concert in a natural cave rather that in a traditional building.

To further optimize acoustics, the concrete structure is perforated like a net, with porous aluminum sheets installed in the holes as sound absorbers. The interior finish of the hall’s concrete structure is fully dabbed to diffuse sound. Lighting effects alter the appearance of the concrete, making it seem sometimes massive, sometime weightless, and imparting a sense of warmth.