Chichu Art Museum

Description

The Chichu Art museum is located on the Naoshima Island which is a small island on Seto Island Sea. The museum was build underground (submerged at the top of a ridge near shore) in order to compliment the natural scenery in the island and minimize environmental impact of the structure. It was designed by a Japanese architect named Tadao Ando for Benesse foundation. The structure was completed in 2004. The museum covers 2573 square meters space underground. And excavation along the north-south axis from the sea was conducted to create a series of geometrical spaces underground. The structure was cleverly designed to use natural lighting.

Naoshima Kagawa,

Japan

Sketch of cross section

Additional pictures

Type(s) of solution(s) used

- Underground public service facilities (archives, libraries, swimming pools)

Project construction

Project in operation/use

2004-01-01

Urban Problems solved

- Service quality of the urban environment has to be improved
- Valuable surface space must be kept available or become available again
- Urban planning for combination of functions

Topics addressed

Service quality of the urban environment is improved by maintain the natural space whilst using the under ground space to provide public attraction in the form of a museum.

The island is a tourist attraction and the ridge is known for its scenic views, for which the above ground space us left unaltered, instead the under ground space has been occupied for the art display, concerts and events which provides combination of functions.

Factors that influenced the decision making process

- Unique innovation aspects
- Architectural factors
- Environmental impacts

Main benefits and the key factors in the decision making process

This structure is architecturally unique as it is a symbol in itself representing the interaction between space and people.

The environmental impact is reduced as the museum is underground and natural environment of the space is unaffected.