Type
culture

Source
competition

Client
Aomori Prefectural Art Museum

Address/Site
Aomori, Japan

Site area
55.224 m2

Building area
5.040 m2

Total floor area
14.868 m2

Storeys
4

Program
fine arts museum

Structure
precast concrete core, steel structure

Cladding
fixed multilayered glass, metal panels

Architect
SADAR+VUGA (Jurij Sadar, Boštjan Vuga, Tatjana Kerčmar, Marjen Poboljšaj, Peter Šenk, Tadej Žaucer) + Sachiko Miyazaki

Our design for the Aomori Prefecture Art Museum is based on the effect of permeability. The museum is placed under a shelter compound consisting of five plates with round holes.

The wholes are visually interrelated to create vertical space in a horizontal landscape. It is verticality connecting to the sequential circulation in the museum: short vertical – long horizontal.

Through combining sequential circulation with effects of permeability a mechanism for a new museum experience is obtained. Each of the four levels in the museum has its entrance hall.

Halls are interconnected by round, glass-covered holes in floors (so that you can walk on them) and ceilings penetrated by two elevators and escalators. Location of the holes on five permeable slabs encourages level entrance halls to permeate each other without melting into a vast main entrance hall.
Permeable slabs enable penetration and manipulation of daylight into two basement floors.