Another way of enjoying museums - Sep. 25, 2023

I made use of my day off and visited the Oita Prefectural Art Museum, also known as OPAM, designed by architect Shigeru Ban. Apparently, OPAM has two concepts: the "Museum of the Five Senses" and the "Museum of Encounters." You can't only see the design of both the museum and the displays but also touch and listen to them. On the third floor, there's an open space designed by Shigeru Ban where they used Japanese cedar from Hita, so you can enjoy the scent of it. Also, the bench tops are made from tatami using Igusa rush from Kunisaki, so you can both see and feel the charm of Oita.

This was my first time experiencing a museum from the perspective of how they design the exhibits, layout, and facilities, considering what kind of intention they had. Of course, I took my time to look at the exhibits themselves. Plus, I learned a new way to enjoy art museums.

OPAM's concept and a message of Shigeru Ban are below:

“Museum of the Five Senses” “Museum of Encounters”

A museum that “ visitors can enjoy using all five senses.”：An art museum that, through various view points and senses, appeals to visitors’ sensitivity and creativity – a museum that visitors can enjoy using all five senses.

A museum where “visitors can make new discoveries and be inspired due to encounters.”：Oita and the world, the classic and the modern, art and music – through a special exhibition that takes all of these “encounters” as its theme, OPAM is a museum that visitors can use to make new discoveries and be inspired.

A museum “visitors can think of as their living room at home.”：OPAM is a museum visitors can drop into at ease, feeling as though they are in their living room at home.

A museum that “grows alongside citizens of the prefecture.”：From the children who will become the next generation, to elderly visitors, citizens of all ages will be able to grow alongside the museum.

An “Open” Art Museum

Typical Museums are usually a closed building type which prevents the public from knowing what　activities are going on inside and deprives them of the chance to enjoy art.
This Museum aims to draw even those who are not Art-lovers, to visit regularly and enjoy the Museum as a gathering place for the public.
The ground floor atrium is a two-story high open space entirely enclosed by glass making the museum activities transparent from the street.
The atrium is always free for everyone and can be enjoyed as a civic space. There is a cafe and museum shop that is designed to be movable so they can relocate to adjust to the spatial requirements of exhibition layouts within Exhibition Room A. This exhibition room is formed by using movable walls to divide parts of the atrium into typical closed gallery rooms, or into what transforms the entire atrium into an exhibition space. The atrium is constantly changing with each exhibit, so that with each visit, there is a fresh impression of the space.
Furthermore, the entire southern street-side facade of the atrium is composed of operable bi-folding glass doors which can fully open to become a semi-outdoor public space allowing visitors to enter freely. This public space is borne from the idea of the traditional Japanese "Engawa", which is the covered outdoor space bordering the perimeter of traditional Japanese houses.
A glass facade can create a visual connection between interior and exterior, but still exists as a transparent wall physically separating the spaces. By removing this wall, the museum becomes a facility that becomes one with the city. Also, when the city closes off the fronting street to become what they call a "pedestrian's paradise", the street becomes a connected public space. Combined with the cultural center directly opposite of the museum, it is possible to hold huge events together centered around these two cultural facilities, further reinforcing the energy and spirit of Oita City.

*Engawa: covered outdoor space bordering the perimeter of traditioanal Japanese houses.

Shigeru Ban

Architecture | About OPAM | 大分県立美術館(OPAM)