Ken Iwata Mother & Child Museum, Imabari City Japan

The parallel barrel vaulted ceilings are similar to Louis Kahn’s Forth Worth museum. A latticework of steel structure holds up the thin white shell structures, and a second row is offset, adding complexity. The concrete walls seem heavier but still attempt lightness so as not to hold the slender roofs down.

Ito’s concrete is much more stylistic in the circular building. A swirling entrance leads to a self-effacing structure that ignores the gorgeous coastline and concentrates on the grass courtyard. This sculpture garden is thus separated from the environment while the wall art all points to the ocean. This turns upside down conventional rules of museum design- that wall art should have a dark, closed environment and sculpture should be placed frelye in the environment.

The architecture museum is dark black and assumes geometric shapes, which seem to mimic the hills. It likewise consists of steel panels on a concrete base but is less of a shelter or display venue than a playground of shapes and materials.

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