Sent through to editor Hugh Pearman via Twitter, as this issue went to press, was a link to a You Tube video of Toyo Ito's slinky Sendai Mediatheque. But it was no typical architectural visual tour with high production values, ethereally sliding through the building on a Steadicam. This was recorded by a high school student on his mobile just after he dived under one of the cultural centre's reading room tables during last month's magnitude 9 earthquake that hit Japan about 130km away to the east, somewhere below the Pacific. Not surprisingly, the student didn't seem too concerned with the aesthetics of its 13 gorgeous white steel lattice columns rising through and supporting the building, supposedly inspired by seaweed swaying lazily in the tide, or in the detailing of the seamless floor-to-ceiling performance glazing that interfaces with the structure's seven 400mm concrete floors, giving the building almost unprecedented lightness, transparency and clarity.
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