Are there no other creative solutions to the Machinaka Kinema problem?

Are there no other creative solutions to the Machinaka Kinema problem?

 

This article was published on Shonai Nippou paper on 8 and 9, January, and slightly revised on 9 May.

 

 

Tsuruoka Machinaka Kinema, a cinema complex building renovated from a silk factory, was closed on 22 May 2020. And The Shonai Bank declared it would soon liquidate the company Machizukuri Tsuruoka, that was established to revitalize the central district of the town supported by the bank and had been running the cinema for ten years. Many people got concerned and the citizens group collected 10,000 signatures demanding the reopen of Tsuruoka Machinaka Kinema.

 

Under such circumstances, Tsuruoka City showed “The Re-use Plan of former Tsuruoka Machinaka Kinema”. Planning schemes are as follows;

 

1. Tsuruoka City Council of Social Welfare will acquire the land and buildings. The large two theatres and multi-purpose hall will be cleared to be divided into small rooms, such as office rooms, meeting rooms, storage rooms and a nursing care support room.

 

2. Small two theatres will be left for the neighbourhood Shopping District Promotion Association to provide movie viewing events for the community people.

 

3. Tsuruoka City will subsidize the project with €250.000

 

In response to the plan above, The Shonai Bank is going to demolish the two empty buildings adjacent to the cimema buildings.  Those two buildings are also  industrial and cultural heritage of Tsuruoka.  　

 

The outline is as above. I am grateful to the persons involved that the demolition of all four buildings were avoided. And the welfare facility will be welcome.

 

But as an architect and urban designer, I can not but point out that The Re-use Plan consists of many “Mottainai” elements. As Wangari Muta Maathai, a Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Mottainai is an ancient Buddhist term from Japan that means to have respect for the resources around you, to not waste resources, and to use them with a sense of gratitude (from Wikipedia on Wangari Maathai and Mottainai).

 

  First of all, The Re-use Plan needs much money and produce enormous waste to clear the whole body of the theatre. It is not easy to destroy the closed and isolated box with acoustic, electric and air conditioning equipment and specified fire resistance apparatus. Also it is not easy to use it as an office room because  the floor is staircase shape.

In addition, they were constructed by the tax payers’ money, a national subsidy, 10 years ago and now the city is ready to use the tax payers’ money again to destroy them. Though Tsuruoka City is one of SDGs Model cities in Japan and has been a registered member of UNESCO creative cities network, I think what the city is going to do are far from UN and UNESCO’s concept.

 

 Secondly, it is “Mottainai” to destroy the theatre without verifying the probability of managing the movie theater. Having heard the news of close, some movie companies asked the Shonai Bank if they could rent all four theaters.  The answer was NO, because the bank had already decided to sell the land and buildings. They did not try to look for the company to manage and run the movie theaters but the company that purchases the estimate.

 Professionals on the movie theater management say “if someone wanted to run the movie theatre in a small town like Tsuruoka, he or she needs at least 3 or 4 screens and the desirable capacity of each theater is 150 seats”.  I wonder if it is right to demolish large theatres of 150 seats now.

 

Thirdly, can they get benefit worth the cost? It is very “Mottainai” if new facilities rebuilt with much money are not comfortable or convenient. Community movie space will not have an entrance hall, lounge space, eating space or shopping space former Machinaka Kinema provided for the costumers. And persons to attend the meeting of Tsuruoka City Council of Social Welfare must walk through the movie zone and one can not get to the storeroom when the meeting room is used.  Is it Ok that there is no expanding room for nursing care, while  the population of old people is increasing?

 

 Fourthly, it is utterly “Mottainai” to demolish the two vacant factory buildings of the site. The buildings are industrial and cultural heritage of Tsuruoka City and I guess the demolishing costs €500,000. Friends of mine, architects and city planners ask me why Tsuruoka city changed its planning policy from the reservation to “scrap and build policy of high growth period in 20th century”.

 

Last of all, I would like to mention the architectural value of the building. It received   several architectural prizes and awards from home and abroad. The design of theatres and multipurpose hall, conceived to create the space where people enjoy the movie while feeling the history of the place, was highly esteemed. And it would be registered as a national asset if we had not stopped the procedures by the request of The Shonai Bank.

 What will a student say to see the theaters are not there, pictures and plans of those can be seen in the must-read textbook for students? He or she will say what a “Mottainai” thing you have done!

 

Then are there no alternatives? Is the City’s Re-Use Pan the only solution? Let’s  listen to the lectures and see the alternative plan presented in the Civic Forum on 29 November. Professor Osamu Goto, the first person in the architectural field on building and town renovation, and other researchers and architects from Architectural Institute of Japan, like RIBA in UK, were saying the same thing as blow.

 

“We are pleased that Tsuruoka City Council of Social Welfare will purchase the site and Machikine buildings. Then, please do not demolish the empty two former factory buildings adjacent to Machikine, but use them for the office of Tsuruoka City Council of Social Welfare. It’s far easier for Tsuruoka City Council of Social Welfare to repair the buildings of big volume and strong steel structure than tackling the complicated structures of Machikine” It’s “Mottainai” to waste money for demolishing the historical heritage buildings.

 

If we follow the proposal of professor Goto, Tsuruoka people will have the new complex of Welfare and movie culture in the central district. We can obtain it with less money and wastage. As I mentioned before some movie theater companies are concerned, we must negotiate the rent conditions with them and try to find the way to support the company. Fortunately, we have reliable supporters including movie management professionals who helped us when Machinaka Kinema project started 15 years ago. And we also have an attractive proposal by professor Kikuchi, researcher of Yamagata University, that they are ready to manage and run the multi-purpose hall autonomously, if not cleared.

 

Though while we are discussing the issue, break down work of the vacant former factories began! and now demolition work is continuing in the heavy snow fall. But prof. Goto and we have already submitted another plan. We’d like Tsuruoka City Council of Welfare to build a new small office rooms of wood structure connected to the Machikine buildings and repair one theatre adjacent to the office building for the nursing care use, preserving the whole structure of the theatre. Theatre space with staircase shaped floor can be useful and attractive for the nursing care activities and film projection equipment can assist the activity. Then three theatres are left for commercial or community movie show. We can build a functional and compact office building with the same construction costs as the heavy clearance and construction costs of Machinaka Kinema buildings.

 

Tsuruoka City Council of Welfare will be requested to build a new office on the west side of the Machinaka Kinema, so that it will be located among Machinaka Kinema and the Basho Memorial Gallery, now being planned by the community people including me, and connect them and pedestrians from the shopping street are able to reach Machinaka Kinema easily.  

 

The Company Machidukuri Tsuruoka, sponsored by The Shonai Bank, built the Movie theatre in 2010. The president of The Shonai Bank told me with enthusiasm that the local bank should tackle the problem of decentralization of the city and he would make the cultural and residential centre using the large estate of the factory. The former president Kunii knows the special meaning and significance of the centre of the city. It is not only the most convenient place but also a place where people nourish　the sense of place and pride for the home town and where people encounter something beyond daily life.

 

Since then, the company had been gathering 80,000 people/year to the central district of Tsuruoka. One private company, so to speak, played the role of public sector for 10 years.

I think it is a Government’s turn to challenge the problem of the city centre sincerely and wholly. I appreciate that Tsuruoka City has shown a re-use plan soon after the close of Machinaka Kinema. I hope the city did not take the path of least resistance. It’s time to make a comprehensive plan of the district through the careful research from the various perspectives of architecture, urbandesign, theater management, investment environment, third sector argument and culture. Let’s start discussing all possible alternatives through public participation. Try now for a long-term big change. 

 

 

 Tokihiko Takatani

   architect/urban designer