Architecture can enhance one’s grasp of an existing environment. It compiles landscape: various aspects of the existing environment which would escape otherwise. In general, a forest road is constructed by cutting and filling at a minimum. In the case of the museum in a forest, the same approach is easiest. A simple rule creates variety in places and sequences. A lightweight wooden shelter on a forest road becomes a permanent exhibition room that takes in outside scenes. Topographical features lead visitors to be tense or at ease. The steep sloping area with high retaining walls is used for exhibition. On the other hand, the gentle sloping area with low retaining walls is for rest. Machinery helps one go upslope, and one goes down through their own physicality. A beginner ski course is often placed on a forest road. The works are exhibited in chronological order. At the same time, the angle of the ramp gradually becomes gentle, and the retaining wall is reversed in right-and-left when people turn round the corner. Therefore, a physical feel of space and the age of each work changes synchronously. The circulation diagram is not different from that of a normal museum. It has short-cut routes and escape routes like a down-hill ski course.
| location | Midori City, Gunma Pref. |
|---|---|
| principal use | museum |
| total floor area | 3,148m2 |
| structure | wood, reinforced concrete, steel frame 1 basement and 4 stories |
| competition result | selected as one of the finalists at Open Design Competition in 2002 |