SHEEPLA Izumiotsu City Library

泉大津図書館 シープラ

An open library at the heart of urban development
SHEEPLA Izumiotsu City Library is a public library planned as a centerpiece of the city’s education policy, which aims to have the highest reading volume in Japan. From the time of the proposal, the library was required to be at the intersection of books, creativity, and collaboration. In parallel with the design, we collaborated with an experienced library director to develop a variety of new programs including an exhibition space, an antenna shop for local industries, an expanded business support corner, a food and drink area, and an open seminar room as a place for lifelong education. The existing building is a commercial facility built during the bubble period, and the library occupies one floor of the facility covering approximately 3,500 m2. When the game arcade and shops were demolished and the skeleton space was revealed, we were surprised to find a magnificent colonnade space. In order to connect this large space to the experience of searching for a book, picking it up, and reading it, we drew new curves that weave between the existing structural framework, gently dividing the space into active and quiet spaces.

Ambivalent furniture that is both a place for people and a place for books
The design was carried out with an awareness that the place for books and the place for people would merge so that events could be held anywhere. We wanted to not only make and arrange the furniture beautifully, but also to have the furniture divide the space and generate a flow of people. To make the highly difficult furniture viable within a tight budget and short construction period, we asked furniture designer Taiji Fujimori to collaborate on the design and production. We proceeded with the design through deep dialogue with the management about ensuring all basic needs were met adequately.

A one-room library with flow and intersections, a sense of place like a city
In order to give a sense of place to the approximately 3,500 m2 created by the renovation of a homogenous commercial facility, we used the ceiling, floor and furniture to create a large spatial flow and intersection. The first priority was the sequence of entering the library. Users enter from either the elevator or the escalator. The ceiling curves over the space so that these two lines of movement are connected to the back of the library. In response to the ceiling, we came up with a raised floor zone that is 300 mm higher. By creating a difference in floor level, we wanted to make it possible to recognize the topographical unity of activities.

This project was updated by constantly crossing over between hard and soft aspects as we accompanied the management in developing the library program. Within the smoothly continuing spatial sequence, ambiguous and multi-purpose boundaries weave activities into the space. We believe that this is a suitable space for the new public library that will accommodate a variety of activities. (Teppei Fujiwara + Miho Tominaga)