Facilities / Art Tower Mito (English)

1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp
Phone: (029)227-8111 / Fax: (029)227-8110

Tower

The spiral tower rising above the ATM Plaza was built 100m (328ft) high to commemorate Mito's 100th anniversary as an official city (1989). It thus symbolizes the movement from the past to the future and from tradition to creation.

The tower is composed of 28 contiguous regular tetrahedron sections (edges 9.6m (31.5ft) long) set on top of each other. The 57 triangular surfaces of the structure are covered with titanium panels, each of which is set at a different angle to reflect the constantly changing light and the surrounding scenery in a different way, inspiring the imagination of those viewing it.

To get to the observation deck, one takes a round, glass-enclosed elevator inside the tower, from which the interior structure of the tower can be viewed, with the round windows arranged along the ridge line of the tower letting in light.
The elevator moves at a slow pace (60m/sec), requiring 90 seconds to reach the top.
The observation deck has round windows that resemble portholes, which afford visitors a view overlooking the city of Mito.

Structure:	Four-story reinforced-steel (3F Observation Deck, 4F Machine Room)
Height:	100 m (328ft)
Observatory Deck:	86.4 m (283ft) high, capacity 19 persons
Material:	Titanium-clad 1.5mm thick, 57 triangular titanium panels (each edge 9.6m (31.5 ft) long)

Plaza

Mito citizens and visitors to the ATM can relax in the plaza.
Various events take place in the plaza that take advantage of its special nature, including free markets and outdoor concerts. In fact, there are few days in which the plaza is quiet.

Basic Shape:	Square, approximately 60m (197ft) on each side
Lawn:	Kentucky Green Grass
Weight of Suspended Rock at "Cascade":	27 ton (30.2 U.S. tons)
Water of "Cascade":	Circulating, gushing out at 10 tons/min
Height of Keyaki (Zelkova) Trees:	20 meters (66ft)

Entrance Hall

The entrance hall serves as the common entrance lobby for ATM visitors attending concerts, plays and exhibitions.

Modeled after the style of a European church, the lofty space of the entrance hall features an organ on the second floor.

The hall was designed to fulfill two major purposes. As the normal entrance into the buildings of the ATM complex, the space allows visitors to pass freely from the east and the west.
When its movable doors are closed, the hall also serves as a pipe organ concert hall, with its excellent acoustics reverberating with organ music.

The pipe organ on the second floor was built by two Japanese certified as masters after training in Germany. It is one of the largest instruments of its kind in Japan.
Every weekend, free organ concerts -- the Organ Promenade Concerts -- are held in the hall to let people enjoy its unique sound.

Purpose:	Common lobby, and hall for organ concerts
Size:	7m (23ft) wide, not counting 2.4m (8ft) wide corridors on each side,
	22m (72ft) deep and 11m (36ft) high
Seating Capacity:	300 seats (all removable)
Reverberation Time:	5.8 sec (empty hall) 2.6 sec (full house)
Organ:	Manufactured by MaNa Orgelbau AG (Japan)
	46 stops, 3,283 pipes (80 settings can be electronically stored)
	"white keys" made from natural granadilla, "black keys" from cow bone, radial foot pedals (all German standard specifications)
	Organ casing made from North American white oak

Concert Hall ATM (seating 620 to 680 persons)

The Concert Hall ATM is shaped like an arena, designed like an open hand with the stage situated right in the middle of the palm.

The seats surround the hexagonal stage so intimately that even people sitting in the last row can hear the performers breathing.

Similarly, when chamber music is being played, the fine distinctions between each instrument part are clearly audible.

The ceiling of the concert hall, which is supported by three giant marble columns, has a special sound-reflecting disk suspended from it that can be moved vertically according to need.

Namely, height adjustments to the disk alter both the volume of air within the hall and the angle of sound reflection, thus controlling the time needed for direct and reflected sounds to travel to the ears of the audience.
Depending on the instruments and the wishes of the performers, then, this feature allows for acoustics of the hall to be fine-tuned.

The listening experience afforded to the audience in the Concert Hall ATM is unlike that of any other, thanks to its superb acoustics and the comfortable atmosphere.

Purpose:	Classical music concerts
Seating Capacity:	680 (including 60 removable seats)
Stage Size:	9.7m (32ft) deep, 60cm (24in) thick, 120 sq. meters (1,291 sq. ft.) in area
Stage Device:	Movable sound reflecting disk, 13-m (43-ft) diameter, hanging 6 to 8.4m (20 to 27.5ft) above stage
Reverberation Time:	1.6 sec (full house)

ACM Theatre (seating 472 to 636 persons)

The duodecagonal ACM Theatre is configured with three seating tiers surrounding a thrust stage.

Since the seats are arranged in circular fashion around the stage, and with the height of each gallery level minimized, each member of the audience can appreciate even fine distinctions in the actors' expressions, with the furthest third-tier gallery seat only 12m (39ft) from the stage.

The audience and the stage are brought even closer together by the lack of any separating division between the two.
In other words, this is a theater in which the audience and the actors truly share the same place and moment in time.

The round wall rising behind the gallery seats is made from cobalt-impregnated brick, giving the sense of a small wooden hut enclosed by a round blue-bricked building.

The stage itself is divided into ten sections that can be arranged and recombined as necessary with stage elevators.
That means that various types of performances can be given in addition to regular drama performances, such as traditional Noh and Kyogen, dance, and even fashion shows.

When the stage is maximized, it fills almost half of the entire ground floor, and five times as large as its minimum size.
The center of the stage containstwo trap doors.

Purpose:	Performances (Drama, Dance, Noh, Kyogen, etc.)
Seating Capacity:	472 to 636
Balcony Height:	2.7m (9ft) between each level
Stage Height:	60cm (2ft) above floor
Max. Stage Size:	307 sq. meters (3,303 sq. ft.)
Reverberation time:	0.7 sec (full house)

Contemporary Art Gallery (nine rooms)

The Contemporary Art Gallery at the ATM is made up of nine adjacent galleries each differing in size, light conditions and proportions. As they pass through the various rooms, visitors are thus able to experience the different lighting and physical relationships each room offers, giving rise to the sense of spatial rhythm within their bodies.

So as not to interfere with the presentation of the art objects, the interior design of the gallery -- the floor, walls, and ceiling -- is muted in terms of expression and assertion.

Rooms 1 through 7 of the gallery are contiguous, and the other two rooms are separated. Visitors normally start their tour in Room 1 and end in Room 9. Room 1 features a gabled ceiling with a top light, which allows natural light to flow in; the light can be adjusted or shut out electrically with a shutter.

The next room, Room 2, is artificially lit, and is only half the size of the first room. Moving on to Room 3, which lies in the center of the building, we find a pyramidal top light that lets in abundant natural light. The room is slightly bigger than the previous one, and the ceiling is quite high. Room 4 is the same shape as Room 2, while Room 5 is the same as Room 1, giving visitors a symmetrical experience to the one they had leading into Room 3.

Leaving Room 5, then, we encounter a workshop in front of us, and must turn right to enter the long and narrow Room 6, which stretches all the way to Room 1 along the exterior wall of the first five galleries. The center of Room 6 features a large glass window overlooking the ATM Plaza. Room 7 is artificially lit like Rooms 2 and 4, but is a bit more spacious in size. Room 8, which serves simultaneously as the foyer for the Concert Hall, is a bright space opening to an atrium above.

Leaving Room 8, we pass behind the pipe organ on the second floor of the entrance hall to reach Room 9, an artificially-lit small room separated from the rest on the side of the theater.
Thus ends the tour of the Contemporary Art Gallery of ATM.

Each exhibition space can be changed to match the works being presented, as nails can be pounded directly into the floors and walls, and pictures drawn upon them. The high level of freedom is perfect for the exhibition of contemporary art with its multitude of expressive forms.

No. of Exhibit Rooms:	Nine (7 continuous, 1 foyer/exhibit room and 1 solitary room)
Total Floor Space:	960 sq. meters (10,333 sq. ft.)
Total Wall Length:	285m (935ft)
Max. Ceiling Height:	14.8m (48.5ft), Room #3 (pyramid-shaped)
Max. Wall Height:	5.4m (18ft), Room #3
Max. Room Space:	9m (30ft) by 19m (62ft), Rooms #1 and #5 3.6m (12ft) wall height

Conference Hall

To the southwest of the ATM complex in its own separate building is an annex for conferences, forums, and the like. The exterior is a composite of squares and cylinders, and the interior has a drape-like truss wall.

On the side of the road that links the conference hall with the ACM Theatre is a beautifully curved stairway named the Monroe Stairway (as it is reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's curvaceous figure), leading up to the rooftop of the cloister, which is open to visitors.

Area:	222.3 sq. meters (2,390 sq. ft.)
Capacity:	78

Museum Shop "Contrepoint"

The shop offers current exhibition catalogs, original postcards and posters, as well as books and CDs related to current special exhibits or performances. There are also fashionable accessories and small items available.

Restaurant "Vert et Blancher"

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (orderstop: 2:30 p.m.) / 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. (orderstop: 9:00 p.m.)
Closing Dates: Art Tower Mito closing days

Coffee Lounge

Drinks and snacks are available in this space, giving visitors a restful pause in the midst of their tour of ATM.

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