Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan) / Kunio Maekawa

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Exterior | Photographer Unknown

The Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan), designed by  Kunio Maekawa in 1957, opened in April 1961. The building was Japan’s first concert hall and was located in Tokyo’s Ueno Park. The heavy cornice and roof superstructures are reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s works, for whom Maekawa had previously worked. Directly adjacent to the hall stands the National Museum of Western Art, designed by Le Corbusier himself.

Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall Technical Information

• Architects: Kunio Maekawa
• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Material: Reinforced Concrete
• Type: Concert Hall
• Style: Japanese Modernism
• Project Year: 1957-1961

They say people change along with the stream of time. But, I believe there must be something which never changes in the philosophy of a human being.

– Kunio Maekawa

Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall Photographs

Aerial View | Photographer Unknown

Exterior | Photographer Unknown

Exterior | Photographer Unknown

Exterior Tokyo Bunka Kaikan | Photographer Unknown

Entrance Lobby Tokyo Bunka Kaikan | Photographer Unknown

Entrance Tokyo Bunka Kaikan | Photographer Unknown

Main Hall | Tokyo Bunka Kaikan

Recital Hall | Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan)

Ever since Bruno Taut and Frank Lloyd Wright-related the idea of “Japanese-ness” with Japanese architecture at the beginning of the 20th century many Japanese architects struggled with the question of how to create a building that on the one hand had a modern approach while also searching for a way to express the cultural identity and heritage of the country.

Maekawa, however, seemed to have always searched for a more pure modernist expressive form of architecture, rather than this search for a Japenese-ness in architecture. Maekawa mentioned that during the war, he was publicly attacked by his student Kenzo Tange questioning him of how architecture could express the new national Japanese identity. In true Aikido-style, Maekawa answered that the naval architecture with its swift lines stood for the new, imperial architecture. Maekawa’s non-political stance almost made him look like a traitor. Trained at Le Corbusier’s office in the late 1920s, Maekawa remained a true modernist architect throughout his career.

His influence on the dissemination of modern architecture in Japan can hardly be overestimated. The Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall, a concert and events hall at the east entrance to Ueno Park, became the most crucial stage in Tokyo for orchestras and international stars immediately after its inauguration in 1961. Later the NHK Hall (1972), the Suntory Hall (1986), the Orchard Hall (1990), the Geijutsu Theatre (1991), the Takemitsu Memorial Hall, and Sumida Triphony Hall (1997) started competing with the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. However, the Latter is still known for its excellent acoustics.

The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan project used acoustical designs engineered by the NHK Technical Research Laboratories. The project pioneered and established in Japan the role of the architectural acoustical design professional as we know it today.

The Large auditorium has 2,300 seats; the smaller Recital Hall 649 seats, is for chamber music and conferences. There are eight rehearsal rooms, five seminar rooms, and a music library. The Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall is considered to be Maekawa’s best work. There are dramatic marble interiors but also references to vernacular architecture, especially the Minka (traditional Japanese farmhouse). The Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture operates the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan.

MAIN HALL ARCHITECTURE

Main Hall Interior | Source: t-bunka.jp

The Main Hall presents concerts and performances such as ballet and opera. Ryokichi Mukai created the cloud-shaped acoustic components. Scattered blue-green and yellow seats suggest a field of flowers, which also makes empty seats less noticeable. The movable features allow the stage to switch and to accommodate concerts or opera/ballet performances. The entire hall entrance is covered in salmon pink.

RECITAL HALL ARCHITECTURE

Recital Hall | Source: t-bunka.jp

Recital Hall has chamber music performances and recitals by artists from Japan and around the world almost every day. The stage height can be adjusted. The distinctive sound-reflecting panel on the stage and the components on the concrete wall that diffuse the sound are the works of sculptor Masayuki Nagare. Andon (Japanese paper-framed lamp) styled fletching-like lights hang from the hall ceiling.

Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall Plans

© Mayekawa Associates, Architects & Engineers

Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall Image Gallery

About Kunio Maekawa

Maekawa Kunio (1905 – 1986) was a Japanese architect noted for his designs of community centers and his work in concrete. After graduation from Tokyo University in 1928, Maekawa studied with the architect Le Corbusier in Paris for two years. Returning to Japan, he tried to counteract the theatrical style of the Japanese imperialist regime. In the 1950s, he continued to work primarily in the style of Le Corbusier.
Other works from Kunio Maekawa  

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