Built at the behest of the Japanese government, the new National Museum of Art, Osaka, by Cesar Pelli & Associates, occupies a difficult but important site that shaped and inspired the architects’ design. The striking and inventive solution is a building constructed like a three-hull submarine placed below the flood level of the surrounding rivers. Rising above the water like silvery reeds are open-form spires of tubular steel, which begin underground in the reception level of the museum, bursting through the glass skyline to soar as high as 170 feet, forming a sculptural icon on the Osaka skyline.

It’s been 30 years since the National Museum of Art, Osaka, opened its doors to Japanese and contemporary art aficionados and researchers. But, with time and other problems taking their toll on the building, museum officials decided to relocate the museum from a facility built on the outskirts of Osaka for Expo ’70 and erect a new structure in the western section of the city’s Nakanoshima district.

Inventive design
The new museum will widen its collections beyond contemporary art to introduce a diverse range of foreign and domestic art trends and will open its facilities to public programs and events. The 145,000-square-foot building provides two floors of gallery spaces for the permanent collection and temporary exhibits and a third floor of public amenities. The bulk of the watertight underground museum is encased in a three-layered concrete wall that is almost 10-feet thick. The building’s outermost layer is a vault of concrete, the middle layer is concrete with rubberized waterproofing membrane, and the third layer is the finished wall of the museum’s interior. The sheer weight of the structure resists the buoyancy of the watery soil while enabling the building to cost-effectively provide the necessary temperature and humidity controls, greater protection against earthquakes, and improved security. The total depth below grade is 64 feet.

“With an exterior design inspired by the life force of bamboo and the development and cultivation of contemporary art, the new facility will serve as a public space that creates interaction between people and art and provides an even more comfortable environment to appreciate art. As a new hub of culture in Nakanoshima, the site of special historical and cultural significance over the years, it is our hope that the museum will become a familiar destination for everyone,” organizers note on the museum’s Web site.

Natural light infuses the exhibition floors. From a wedge-shaped, glass-enclosed lobby at grade, visitors descend to three L-shaped floors. Level 1 houses the free public zone, restaurant, auditorium, gift shop, ticket and information desk, and offices. A portion of this level is left open to the floor below, allowing natural light to penetrate downward. Level 2 houses the temporary exhibit galleries and back-of-house facilities. Level 3 houses the permanent collection gallery and more back-of-house facilities.

Iconic element
The museum’s location on Nakano Island is being developed as a new cultural and business gateway to bustling Osaka. For that reason, the plan called for an iconic skyline element, which Cesar Pelli & Associates designed from the steel and glass of the skylighted roof, which seems to rise up from grade level, curving and tilting though the site to become a glass-enclosed lobby. Titanium-coated stainless steel tubes rise from the first level below ground to form a complex woven, organic form, which supports the lobby glass. This silvery form becomes the icon for the museum.

“The steel sculpture is allowed to sway, to some extent, in all directions. Given its height and location, wind and earthquake design posed unique engineering challenges. Also, many of the steel tubes must penetrate the skylight glass. For these junctures, the architects designed a watertight seal with a bellows. The bellows allow the steel tube to move 4–6 inches in any direction without breaking the glass or causing leaks.” The titanium film coating also prevents corrosion, repels water, and resists dust.

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