The National Library was originally located in Tokyo, but the high land prices in the capital made any expansion impossible. The library was therefore moved to a site in the new Kansai Science City 500km to the south-west. The entrance is marked by a strip of water 250 metres long with falls, on both sides of which are large landscaped areas with glazed north-light roofs embedded in them. Below these, the structure extends four storeys into the ground. The heart of the library, however, is the 5,850 m2 reading room with views to the courtyard. The great size of the internal space facilitates a flexible layout that can respond to changing demands in terms of the increasing volume of electronic information. In the rear part are openly accessible books and journals. The bulk of the collection, though, is stored far below ground, beyond the reach of users, under climatically controlled conditions.