A few weeks ago, I had a chance to visit the Tama Art University New Library designed by Toyo Ito. The library has a characteristic space consisting of a series of C. The origin of archways is very old. Even today, we can see them in mosques.
This February, I went to India to see Louis Kahn's architecture. Of course, Louis Kahn' architecture is very beautiful and the mosques are also impressive. I had never seen such stately architecture. In reduced illumination, I felt some kind of religious eternalness. I think the archways are the most important feature of that space. The archways are not simple. The cross section of archways is different at different level, the first level is a square,the next is a little small square, the next is a polygonal shape,the next is simple circle and so on. So,each archways has a complex shape. As a result, the space become a very stately space.
The archways in the Tama Art University New Library are completely different from old mosque archways. They are very simple, thin and abstract. And the space is bright. I can't help feeling the changes of time and advances in technology
