The architecture was inspired by an old Japanese game comprising wooden sticks that were assembled cleverly by hand without nails or metal fittings (Cidori). The new museum structure is nine metres high, each wooden ‘stick’ element measuring 60 x 60 millimetres. The goal of the design team was to remind people of an era without machine-made architecture. “The exhibition hall is basically a three-dimensional gridded structure. By inserting glass panels into the wooden frame, we crafted a system that looks like a transparent wooden lattice running continuously between the interior and exterior,” explains architect Kengo Kuma. During the daytime, the visitor is as fascinated by the sunlight entering the building through the wood, as by the exhibition itself. After dark the building appears to glow from inside, as if the exhibits are still awake, trying to catch people’s attention in the dark. Thanks to the open nature of the wooden structure, light fills the space from floor to the hard cement impregnated chipboard ceiling. Thank goodness for dentists – without them there would have been no reason to create this unique building!

Client: GC Corporation

Design: Kengo Kuma & Associates

Structural design: Jun Sato Structural Design

Construction: Matsui Construction

Lighting: Daiko Electrics

Photos: Daici Ano/J