MIYOSHI CIVIC HALL KIRIRI is a town hall for local residents. Located in a mountainous basin, the region between Japan Sea and Seto Inland Sea, the building is intended to provide an upright experience for the locals but yet not to go beyond too much of extraordinarity, The concept for a hallway that circles between the rooms in various sizes derives from the same idea, to treat those spaces equally without putting them in hierarchy.
Subdivision of those spaces are adjustable according to the scale of the events being performed. When necessary, eight studios, a practice room, and also the smaller hall for 150 audiences can be transformed to be a backstage and dressing rooms.
The Large Hall, which can accommodate 1006 audiences, is designed to correspond with the traditional Japanese theatrical archetype, with a rectangular stage wider in front, and balcony seats. Geographically, Miyoshi City is part of the region where kagura, the sacred performance survives from pre-historic Izumo.
The whole building complex is elevated by five meters. The primary purpose of the elevated structure is to shelter the refugees at the times of flood. Miyoshi city is where three rivers converge and the possibility of flood has been reported. Alternatively, this area under the elevated complex, resulting in creating a piloti, can also function as a “margin” to serve for other purposes, such as parking lot, or holding various events.

Photo: DAICI ANO