Imabari City Public Hall (今治市公会堂)

Kenzō Tange grew up in Imabari. He designed three public buildings for the city, among them this hall, built in 1958 as a venue for performances and an auditorium, across from the city hall. The two buildings were designed and built at the same period, and the space between them has become a public square that also serves as a car park.

Together with the Imabari Civic Center, completed in 1965 to Tange's plans, the hall and the city hall form a U-shaped group, designed to give the outdoor space over to residents as a square. Docomomo Japan selected the group on that ground in 2013.

The hall was renovated in 2013; Tange's mark on it remains clear.

The hall is built in plain, unornamented concrete, marked by the influence of Le Corbusier and typical of Tange's manner. Its sharp angles give it the look of a battleship. It has two levels.

Neither the hall nor the city hall stands on pilotis, unlike other buildings by Tange: he wanted visitors to reach the ground floor without obstruction. Instead, triangular reinforcements, recalling the creases of an origami, mark the hall's walls. Pointed columns carry the sweeping roof and free a large concrete hall.

Inside, the triangle motif carries on along the walls, and the sloping floor of the audience seating forms the slanting concrete ceiling of the entrance hall. Polished wooden seats and handrails answer the polished concrete, with touches of scarlet here and there on walls and curtains.

The city's hall hosts concerts, plays and ceremonies. Its main auditorium seats 1,002, with 504 seats at ground level and 498 upstairs, plus a four-seat mother-and-child room. The foyer can also be used on its own.

The exterior can be seen from the square between the hall and the city hall; the interior can be seen during the events held there. The hall is at 1-4-1 Bekkucho, Imabari.