Aichi Art Theater

Location: Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 

Owner: Prefectura de Aichi

Architect: Instituto de Investigación de Edificios A & T

Construction: 1992

Renovation: April 2019

Seats: 2.480

In 1992, the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater opened at the Aichi Art Centre. In 2016, 24 years after the theatre opened, large-scale renovation work began on the entire facility.

Kotobuki has renovated the audience seating in the grand hall where the upholstery and wood of the chairs had deteriorated over time. And in April 2019, the great hall was reopened.

The renovation of the great hall, which has seating up to the fifth floor, focused on the audience seating on the first and second floor. The central seating on the first floor has been changed from the conventional seating arrangement to a staggered arrangement. As a result, it has been reborn as an audience seat where the view is not obstructed by the head of the person in front. In addition, aisles have been established in the front rows on both sides of the second-floor seats so that the seats on the first and first floor can be moved smoothly even during short breaks. 

The armchair presented this time is a bespoke model of the theatre seat, just as it was before the renovation. The seat has a built-in molded urethane that is resistant to loss of shape and a corrugated metal spring with excellent durability that evenly distributes body pressure. With a special shape that minimizes the load on the body, it is comfortable to sit on for a long time. With the newly installed “automatic seat loosening device”, the seat naturally returns to its original storage position when the seat is empty, so a large aisle space can be ensured. Since no vibrations or collision noises are generated, the interior of the hall is kept quiet. In addition, the seat grade has been improved by remodeling the conventional primary stop type to a non-stop type which is a loose foot type that conforms to current regulations.

The spine has an ergonomic three-dimensional curved shape designed along the lines of the human spine. The curve adapts to the back of the seated person and reduces the feeling of fatigue when seated.

Handrails have been newly installed on the aisle side of the upper floor seats. The seats upstairs have a steep slope, so you need to be careful with your feet when going up and down the stairs. For this reason, we have also considered barrier-free access so that we can go up and down stairs safely.

Zhangji repaired all the seats on the first and second floor. By remanufacturing the same custom-made carpet fabric as before the renovation, the liveliness was revived at the time of completion and the audience seats were beautiful. 

In addition, the front block (Okepi area) of the first floor seats often moved by removing the movable seats, and the wooden part also deteriorated, so we also repaired the paint of the wooden part. The parent-child seats behind the first-floor seats, where parents and children can enjoy art appreciation, have also been renovated. It is a sofa type without armrests and has a wide front, so it is a seat with a high degree of freedom in the way of sitting. After the reopening, a guided tour of the theatre, an experience for the children’s theatre staff and a dance workshop were held, showing a great deal of enthusiasm.