Gifu Municipal Hall: Expose

Elanca Gwee Charlene

Consisting of a cylindrical volume and supported by an L-shaped building, the Municipal Hall in Gifu is a structure that was designed with the past intention of holding concerts and weddings. Throughout the years, as many of the spaces within were underutilized, I am proposing an intervention, using the idea of exposing spaces, to transform the Municipal Hall into a working production space.

Two posters to showcase the before and after scenario of the Municipal Hall. While the exterior remains untouched, the interior is renovated to change the circulation within and to form a imagery connection with the Mieji Kannon, a nearby Buddhist shrine.

The floor plans depicts the intervention: in the cylindrical volume, the auditorium on the first floor have been removed to expose the basement level, where majority of the production works will occur. The focus will be on elements that are related to the theatre but are often hidden away from the audience’s sight – the creation of props and outfits, and even the stage repair works. The visitors can have a close up on the production process, then make their way up via the ramps to the first and second floor, allowing them to observe the spaces within the cylindrical volume from different perspectives. The second floor of the L-shaped volume is also redesigned to house art galleries, which display the numerous handicrafts that were created at the basement production area. A stretched-out Japanese room allows the visitors to admire the Mieji Kannon, located just north of the map.