Works of art by the Japanese ukiyo-e-artist Ando Hiroshige (Utagawa Hiroshige), who was strongly influenced by impressionists, are on display at this art museum. I wanted to create a building that represented the unique spatial configuration created in his wood block prints, and attempted to create three dimensional space that expresses his overlapping layers. This method uses transparent layers, which is in contrast with the use of perspective to create three dimensional space in Western paintings, and had a large impact on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
We decided to use wood louvers made from Japanese cedar which is a local specialty in order to create a structure that incorporates this superimposition method. These cedar planks can be used as roofing material after they undergo fire retardant and preservative treatment. The louvers block the rays of the sun, and the long extended eaves with a unique cross section achieve high environmental performance.
In addition to cedar, local stone, Japanese paper made by local craftsmen and other materials available in the region were extensively used to stimulate the regional economy in order to revitalize local circulation and regional communities that did not depend on Tokyo before the advent of contemporary industrial society.
