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Rules and regulations in using Ex-Noguchi Room
Rules and regulations in using Ex-Noguchi Room
We created guidelines to enable use of the Ex-Noguchi Room while still protecting it. Damage can be prevented if each person is careful about how they use the room. In this step, let’s actually enter the Ex-Noguchi Room, and confirm the precautions for use together. Before entering, the key precautions include not bringing in foods or beverages, not entering wearing wet shoes, and to not bringing in wet objects. We must also be sure to behave calmly while inside the room. If you suddenly move or run, it may cause an unexpected accident. Are you ready? Okay, let’s go inside. To ensure that surfaces of the floor and furniture retain their original texture, we do not apply strong wax.
Surfaces can be easily scraped, so be careful not to cause damage by dragging things or jumping up and down. Nothing like tape should be affixed to any surface. Special-purpose covers like this are kept over the furniture, so let’s remove this one. The cover is large, so it’s best for two people to remove it. It must not be removed quickly or forcefully. If the cover is not removed carefully, it may get caught on the furniture and cause damage. The cover is removed slowly from one side like this. The chairs, tables, and other furniture in the Ex-Noguchi Room were designed by Isamu Noguchi.
Normally, we ask people to refrain from sitting on the chairs, but if permission has been granted, be sure to sit down gently. The rush cord wound around the backrest part of this bench comes off easily, and is easily worn. The wicker mats on the seats are delicately made, so please be careful. Please do not apply any strong loads such as standing on chairs. When writing on a table, use a pencil, and always write by placing a pencil board under the paper. When sitting on these round chairs, gently pick them up and put them down, and be sure to sit down gently. The seat is easily damaged, and the bottoms of the legs may come off if the chair is dragged.
There is also an adjacent coffee table. Its structure enables removal of the top panel, and it is not very stable. Therefore, please do not sit down on it. These white semi-transparent curtains were hung based on a proposal by Kengo Kuma. Do not pull on these curtains. The edge can easily fray or tear.
When you are finished using the room, be sure to return the furniture covers to their original position. Carefully check that the inside of the room is in its original condition. We have described each precaution in detail, so you might feel the precautions are a bit excessive, but this sort of careful consideration is essential in preserving cultural properties. To pass on cultural properties to future generations, we need users to be fully aware they are inside one, and to use it with respect and caution.
We have looked so far at examples of restoration and periodic maintenance of the Ex-Noguchi Room. This Step explains, through a video, the precautions for people using the room. Let’s take a look.
- Do not bring in food or beverages.
- Behave calmly in the room. If you suddenly move or run, it may cause an unexpected accident.
- On rainy days, take off your shoes and do not bring wet articles into the room.
- Do not do any work that might scratch or damage the floor, hand railings, or other furnishings.
- Do not affix tape to the floor or furniture.
- Carefully remove the special purpose covers of furniture so that the covers do not catch on the furniture. When you are finished using the room replace the covers as they were.
- Sit down softly on chairs, being careful not to overload them. (Do not sit down quickly, with excessive force.)
- Do not stand on chairs.
- Do not drag chairs.
- Do not rub or chafe the backrests of benches.
- The structure of the coffee table is such that the table top comes off, and the table is not very stable, so do not sit down on it.
- When writing, always use a pencil board under your paper, and write with a pencil.
- Do not pull hard on the gauze curtain.
This article is from the online course:
Invitation to Ex-Noguchi Room: Preservation and Utilization of Cultural Properties in Universities
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Invitation to Ex-Noguchi Room: Preservation and Utilization of Cultural Properties in Universities
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