By SHOTA WADA/ Staff Writer
November 1, 2023 at 07:30 JST
An artist’s rendition of the exterior of a new museum on Naoshima island in Naoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, tentatively called the Naoshima New Museum of Art ((c) Tadao Ando)
NAOSHIMA, Kagawa Prefecture--A museum that will open in spring 2025 will be the 10th on this island in western Japan to be designed by world-renowned architect Tadao Ando.
The facility, which will be located in the Honmura district, does not have a formal name yet.
It is part of a collaborative project, called Benesse Art Site Naoshima, between the Fukutake Foundation, a public interest body, and Benesse Holdings Inc., an Okayama-based company involved in education and publishing.
It will mainly feature contemporary works by Japanese and other Asian artists.
The works to be shown are intended to express a critical eye on contemporary society.
The single-story museum will have two basement floors, giving it a total floor space of 3,176 square meters, according to the foundation.
Ando, 82, designed it with a large roof to evoke mountain ridge lines connecting to form the top covering.
A staircase will link the ground floor with the basements. Natural light will stream in through skylights.
There will be four art galleries on both sides of the staircase.
A cafe on the north side of the ground floor will allow visitors to enjoy a panoramic view of the Seto Inland Sea from the terrace.
Special exhibitions and workshops will also be held to promote exchanges between islanders and visitors.
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