Light and Shadow at the Nezu Museum | Landmark College (2024)

Light and Shadow at the Nezu Museum

June 28, 2024

Text by student Madeliene Symons

Many of Kengo Kuma’s projects utilize latticework to diffuse the light and create theimpression of a forest. In the case of the Nezu Museum, the vast panes of glass lookingout onto the garden serve this same purpose, connecting the constructed elements ofthe building to the natural elements of the garden. The galleries themselves have nowindows for the conservation of the artifacts, and the only light therein is that whichilluminates them, leaving the center of the gallery where the visitors circumnavigate inshadow.The overall effect is that of stepping into secret caves to view the treasures within, andthen emerging into light and air.

The proportions of the museum echo the traditionalbuildings in the garden allowing the modern structure to blend into its surroundings. Thepath to the museum is a walkway bordered on one side by bamboo that turns sharplyinto the entrance of the building. This path effectively transitions the visitor from thecrowds and commerce of the surrounding area to the experience awaiting them inside.

The basem*nt of the museum has a back entrance into the garden at the base of theglass and steel stairs, the same as the cool materials throughout the upper portions ofthe building, but a substantial section has no windows, and is instead entirely paneledwith pressed bamboo creating a warmth that feels like one is dwelling within a tree.

The Nezu Museum could very well be regarded as Kengo Kuma’s magnum opus, and isa masterclass in the blending of the modern and traditional to create something trulytimeless.

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