Important Cultural Property Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward

Built in 1910 (Meiji 43), it was designated as an important cultural property by the country in 1974 (Showa 49).
It was closed from October 2018 due to the first large-scale preservation and repair work in 40 years, but it reopened in April 2021. Based on the preservation and utilization plan based on the concept of "a public hall where everyone can protect, watch, learn, and gather", the displays design concept is "HEROE'S JOURNEY". Introducing the trajectory of the skills and thoughts of the famous and unknown predecessors (heroes) who played a leading role in the construction of the public hall.

Since the building itself is an important cultural property, we have taken care in concept design so as not to impair the image of the landscape and the interior atmosphere, and we have made adjustments to the fixtures without fixing any fixtures to minimize damage. I paid close attention.
In addition, using an AR app for smartphones, valuable furniture and furnishings are explained in multiple languages, and the appearance of what would have been used at that time is recreated in the actual living room.


[Social Issues/Customer Issues/Requests]
While the number of tourists to Hakodate has increased, the number of visitors to the public hall has been on a downward trend, and the exterior, interior, and displays were quite old and damaged.
In addition, the number of citizens visiting the museum was small compared to the number of visitors, and there was a lack of communication about the history of the museum and the charm of the interior that would lead to motivation to visit. It was built as a “building for the citizens,” but in order to preserve it while passing it on as the pride of the town, it was necessary to communicate its value to people living in the present and have them make use of it.


【solution】
We thought that it would be important for the future preservation and utilization plan to know the reason and value of the public hall that should be preserved.
In accordance with the plan of the city of Hakodate, which places top priority on not affecting the preservation of the building as an important cultural property, we tell visitors that local predecessors, famous and unknown, were involved in the planning, We created a video and displays with the aim of raising awareness of the public hall as a public hall that can be proud of.

[Ball Game Room: History Table]
At the time of construction, the ball game room had a billiards table. The billiard table is the motif of the displays stand, and the 1/100 architectural model accessory set expresses the changes in the people who use the public hall. We have added a sense of playfulness that will make you want to take pictures, such as a map of Hakodate City's traditional architecture preservation district using colored acrylic cubes.

[Small dining room: Theater]
A room that was used as a dining room has been refurbished into a small theater room to introduce the history leading up to the construction of the Public Hall.

[Each room: AR commentary]
Using an AR app, you can enjoy superimposing on the real landscape, such as the motion that reproduces the construction at the time and the architectural structure is transparent. It is a non-contact displays commentary that can be recorded and spread with your own smartphone.


[Our project members]
[Sales and Project Management] Akihide Inoue, Kosuke Takeda
[Planning, graphic direction, video direction, model direction] Yuki Shimokuni, Reimi Abe
[concept design] Atsuko Nakazawa (Detailed working drawings), Akika Yamada (schematic design)