The Nara Centennial Hall was opened in February of 1999 to celebrate the passing of 100 years from the incorporation of the city, and to “watch over the next 100 years.” Isozaki Arata was the designer for the project. With a dome-shaped roof created from tiles, the design of the outer appearance of the building recalls the roofs of historical buildings in Nara. The concept for the design was “A ship of culture to pass eternally through history in the sea of Nara Heijo-kyo” (Heijo-kyo was the name of the ancient capitol).
The theme for the design of Harmony Hall, with its all-glass walls, was “frozen music.” The lighting in the space shows off the clear, uncolored glass walls, and delights visitors. The acoustics of the space are also excellent, and performances such as operas, piano recitals, and classical concerts are held here.
The hall is surrounded by the bar counter and the foyer. These spaces are higher than the audience seats inside, allowing visitors to look down into the hall from outside.
The design for the seats in this space was based on the chairs in the Main Hall. The seat and back of the design are well upholstered. This allows the seats to absorb an appropriate amount of sound echoing within the hall, and helps make the tones of sound easier to hear. The backs of the seat-backs have also been padded, to lend color and brilliance to the space when viewed from the back.
The ventilation system is located inside of the seats. The vent is in the upper back of the seats, and air slightly cooler than that of the room is released. This creates air movement in the room, and helps with efficiently heating and cooling just the areas of the room where people are located. The vents are also very quiet, and even in a hall where sound echoes well, the sound doesn’t interfere with performances. The seating on the second level has been offset diagonally, to ensure a good view of the main stage.
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