Entrance
The round vents spotting the marble-clad floor (a floating floor structure) are for air conditioning purposes. All air conditioning in the building is run through a floor-ventilated system.
Theater Park
The Theater Park is the spacious area located at the top of the grand staircase. It serves not only as the main lobby, but also as another performance space that can be used for various events.
Although most theater designs have guests move directly from the entrance to their seats, at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, guests continue to the back of the building, walk completely around the foyer, before finally heading toward the performance hall. Behind the glass wall on the south side is the back of main stage. This “reverse design” places the main stage in the center of the building and was suggested by only one proposal in the Performing Arts Centre’s design competition. The layout has the following advantages:
By utilizing the long, spacious area from the entrance to the guest seats, it allows us to produce a greater sense of artistic appreciation.
Placing a tall fly tower in the center of the building allowed us to minimize its influence to peripheral areas.
Because the stage’s receiving dock is located in the center of the building, large vehicles do not need to drive all the way around to the back of the facility.
Benches
The benches are characterized by their curious curving shapes that take into account the sporadic light falling through the inlaid glass on the walls. The carpet has a graduated pattern that makes it appear as if the shapes of the benches have permeated into the floor, so the benches were designed with narrow bases to prevent concealing areas of the carpet.
Outside of the Backstage Zone
This area is surrounded by a shallow water channel filled with water drawn from the river and a natural spring. It reflects the natural light and the light escaping from the inlaid glass, creating a soft pattern on the building’s outer walls. The backstage zone can be recognized by the round “submarine windows” that line the walls outside.
The South End of the Building
The water channel creates a small piece of nature right in the city, and additionally acts as a kind of “moat” that protects the backstage zone. The area around the balcony on the upper part of the main hall is covered by semi-transparent glass.
Top Garden
On the third floor roof, you will find a spacious park covered in grass and planted with lilacs. From here, you can admire the 3,000-meter-high peaks of the Japan Alps and mountains of Utsukushigahara Highlands. The Top Garden is generally open to the public during open hours and has long bench stretching around its circumference, making it a popular spot for people strolling around the city to take a break. (Note that there may be days the Top Garden is closed due to bad weather or grass conditions.)
Restaurant
The Performing Arts Centre Restaurant “Say” can seat up to 80 people and features an airy, open layout. Say offers seasonal, healthy, creative cuisine inspired by Japanese cooking and prepared with local ingredients.
You can access the restaurant by taking the elevator located to left of the entrance to the second floor. It is also accessible from the Theater Park.
* Due to safety and security concerns, as well as those regarding the right of possession and copyright protection of promoters, we ask that you do not go into the backstage zone and areas beyond the ticket collection point, including the foyer, main hall, and small hall.
Grand Staircase
A total of 45 meters in length, the height of the steps were designed to reduce the burden on your legs as you walk up the stairs.
Escalator
This escalator was specially designed to curve along the wall.
Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) Walls with Inlaid Glass
The glass inlaid in the hanging, GRC panel walls come in seven different shapes, with about 20,000 pieces in total. Light filters in through the glass during the day and spill outside during the night, producing an extraordinary atmosphere.
The walls also have built-in quartz glass optical fiber lights and insulation is installed between the outer and inner walls.
Aluminum-cast Panels
Constructed from environmentally friendly materials made of recycled aluminum and discarded glass, which can easily be re-separated by melting. The panels feature a relief pattern that can change in appearance depending on the light and are also used on the outside walls.
