The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma: Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, 1971-74 by Arata Isozaki (Architecture in Detail)

Arata Iozaki is one of the most prolific and creative personalities in contemporary architecture. The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, arguably the architect’s masterwork, was the first in a line of commissions for modern and contemporary art museums on a worldwide scale. Completed in 1974 it was refurbished and extended by Isozaki in 1994. The museum is located in the rural surroundings of the Gunma-no-Mori park, and is the most complete realization by Isozaki of conceptual architectural approach – a pristine, essential structure composed of an arrangement of cubes taking the form of a large rectangular block with projecting wings. The 1994 addition consists of a cube added to the main entrance facade housing the new Highvision Theatre, and a restaurant which occupies part of the area beneath one of the wings.

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