LED Lighting for the Main Entrance of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center [Hyogo Prefecture]

Fig. 1 Lighting of the main entrance with LEDs.

Brief summary

The Hyogo Performing Arts Center was completed as a symbol of the spiritual and cultural rebirth after the disaster of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, a decade ago. Its Grand Hall is designed for concerts as well as for opera and ballet performances, the Theater for plays, and the arena-style Recital Hall for chamber music.

The architectural materials for this building are limited to wood, brick, concrete, and glass. Over five hundred thousand subtly different types of bricks are used for the outer covering of the building, of a size 290x70x70 mm, which is larger than common bricks, in four basic colors, but with irregular gradations of colors because of the kilning, and with surface irregularities so that a deep shade is obtained. Bare mahogany timber was adopted to cover the interior walls. The subtle nuances of the bare wood and the red color, which can not be defeated by the concrete, could be expressed only by using a transparent coating alone. The structure-- the pillars, walls, and ceilings--is expressed by unfinished concrete. Walls formed of narrow cedar planks give tensile strength to the spaces, and pillars of 256 pieces of pre-cast concrete give rhythm and volume. The lighting plan satisfies the requirements for simple but noble illumination required to attractively render the substantial feeling of these real materials.

• Location: Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture
• Building area: 10,530.53m²
• Total floor area: 33,144.92m²
• Structure: Steel-framed reinforced concrete structure, reinforced concrete structure,
  partially steel framed structure, PC structure
• Dimensions: Underground 1 floor, above ground 6 floors, tower house 1 floor
• Design & supervision: Hyogo Prefectural Government, Public Works & Development
  Dept., Housing Construction Beaureau, Public Facility Management Division & Public
  Facility Equipment Division; Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
• Construction: Architecture: Taisei, Okumura, Asanuma, Mori, Arai, Karatani, and Kose
  Special Joint Venture
• Electrics: Sumitomo, Hankyu, Kyoei, Amagasaki, and Imai Special Joint Venture
• Construction period: November 2002 – May 2005
• Materials provided by: Kazuteru Obara (Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.)
  Photographs (Fig. 1 through Fig. 3): Copyright Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

*This text is quoted from “Lighting Photograph” published in the Journal of IEI-J, Vol. 90, Number 7, July 2006. The journal contains a description of the illumination facilities.