Project

Eishin Campus – High School: Great Hall – Auditorium

1982 to 1986

Nihongi 112-1, Iruma-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Educational, Realized , Construction completed in May-1986

A large ceremonial building located at the main square and forming one edge of the lake. The main bridge that crosses the lake starts next to its massive podium. Its floor area is 14,000 square feet and has a three-story central space that seats 600 persons and side galleries for 600 more, for assemblies of the whole school. Its interior is characterized by its massive columns and special color plasterwork in red, black, white and grey. .

Client:

Higashino High School - Hisae Hosoi, Managing Director

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Hans-Joachim Neis, Gary Black, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King

Contractor:

Structural contractor: Fujita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan; Finish contractor: Center for Environmental Structure, Japan

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Construction Drawings done after layout Construction management along with on-site design decisions Innovative construction methods

Content of

Project

Eishin Campus - High School 1982 to 1995

Nihongi 112-1, Iruma-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Educational, Realized , The first largest part was completed in 1985, the second part in 1988, and one more building was added in 1995

Client:

Higashino High School - Hisae Hosoi, Managing Director

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Hans-Joachim Neis, Gary Black, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou, Astrid Chwoika, Neville Mathias, Eleni Coromvli, Ken Petermann, Robert M. Walsh, Randall Schmidt, Hajime Odagiri, Kohsuke Izumi, Hiroshi Nakano, Takeshi Ishikubo, Tamio Shiohara

Contractor:

Fujita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Project cost:

$11,000,000 in 1985 $14,000,000 in 1988

Design and construction process:

The work on the design and construction of the project performed by C.E.S. was divided in five phases. 1) Creation of a pattern language; 2) Layout on the site; 3) Design of the individual buildings; 4) Working drawings; 5) Construction 1) The first step in the project was to create a pattern language for the school. This was achieved by spending a total of 1200 man-hours discussing the many requirements with the various teachers, professors and staff of the Eishin School. The results of these interviews and discussions were condensed into a coherent vision, which was written up in the form of patterns (a written documentation that describes a physical reality). A copy of the pattern language that was created had been included as part of the submission to the client. 2) The next step in the process was to lay out the various buildings and outdoor spaces on the site. The main goal in this step was to position the buildings so that they form positive outdoor spaces, and to use stakes to mark the corners so that all of the concerned parties can get an actual physical sense of how the site will feel when the buildings were built. When the site felt as though it was laid out just right, the position of each building was recorded. From this record an overall site plan was drawn. At the same time that this process was going on, a large-scale site model was under continuous development in the C.E.S. office in Japan, where the users could see it and discuss it, day by day, as the work proceeded. This played an important role in helping to establish a direct connection between the users, and the site plan of the finished campus. 3) The third step in the process was the design of the individual buildings. In the Eishin School project, 35 buildings in all were designed. During this phase, various types of construction were considered which could capture the vision of the project. Some of the buildings were designed as concrete block, some were plastered concrete, and others were constructed out of heavy timber. 4) In the fourth stage, preparation of working drawings and permission, C.E.S. did its own engineering and construction estimation. Many of the buildings have unique engineering behavior, which was developed on the C.E.S. computer programs by the C.E.S. engineering staff. C.E.S. also did extensive full-scale mock-ups of crucial materials and construction details during this stage, to guarantee that the final buildings would have the emotional reality with project staff was seeking. 5) In the construction phase of the project C.E.S. worked with Fujita Construction Company, the sixth largest construction company in Japan. During this phase, C.E.S. kept a full scale on-site office in place throughout the work, and had its own staff working closely with the details of the buildings, every single day. Many on-site changes, decisions and details of the buildings were made as the construction proceeded. Because of our method of cost accounting, these changes were made without increasing the cost of the finished project.

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Generic rules for urban growth process Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Construction Drawings done after layout Construction management a

The High School is the part of the Eishin Campus that was constructed, with a total construction area of 12,000 square meters. It is a complex of thirty-five buildings, with pedestrian colonnaded streets, gates and gardens, and a lake with ...

Contents

Construction Innovations

Reports

New Eishin University: Agreement between the Eishin School and the Center for Environmental Structure 09/08/1985

Contractual, Clarifications

Authors:

Hisae Hosoi, School Foundation Eishin Gakuen, Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Christopher Alexander, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

2-page document with seven paragraphs of agreements relating to interior finishes of the Great Hall such as the screen and plastering works, a new contract for money needed for the plastering works and the obligation of the C.E.S. to cooperate ...

Photographs

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References

Scientific Research

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Books

Book Chapters

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Articles

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Visual & Audio Materials

The Center for Environmental Structure: Portfolio of Projects 01/01/1989

C.E.S. Office, Visual, Portfolio

Created by:

Christopher Alexander and Associates, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

A presentation of sixteen projects developed at The Center for Environmental Structure until 1989. 75-page portfolio with Part One “Completed Projects”, Part Two “Current Projects”, concluding with “Additional Projects”. The projects included are: 1) The Linz Cafe, 2) The Sala ...

Manuscripts

Color, Interiors and Office Furniture 01/01/1987

Publication, Article Draft

Authors:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Hansjoachim Neis, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Article draft of a non-published article, with a note “Absolutely not for publication under any circumstances, for discussion only”. The article refers to four projects in which color was a determining factor in their design development, namely to: 1. Main ...

Photographs

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