Lodge 640 History [14]

The brethren responsible for the planning of the temple in the basement of the YIS gymnasium were faced with the problem of recreating as much of the old Bluff Temple ambience as limited floor space and cheaper building materials allowed. The result was a smaller lodge room which still provided sufficient space for decent floor work and enough seating for a reduced membership.

The Master's and Wardens' furniture was refurbished and fitted in the East, West and South. Chairs and benches were re-upholstered to provide more comfortable seating. The East wall of the lodge room, consisting of sliding windows designed to provide the only source of natural light, was draped with a thick dark-blue curtain embroidered with a distinctive golden Letter G.

Lighting was recessed into the starry decked ceiling, and dimmer switches enabled proper lighting levels to be selected during ceremonies.

Air conditioning provided a controlled atmosphere, a necessity during the hot and humid summers of Yokohama and the cold days of winter. Despite such measures, the basement location of the Temple soon gave rise to a pervasive mouldy smell and two flash floods caused extensive damage.

The outer part of the basement area consisted of a single open space, with kitchen and washroom facilities on one side and steel cabinets and desks on the other, thus providing adequate room for harmonies and meetings, and office space for the Secretaries of the two lodges. This open-plan design proved its worth when the adoption of computers and other modern equipment necessitated the rearrangement of the office area.