The Chichu Art Museum in Naoshima, Japan, designed by Tadao Ando and completed in 2004, is an underground structure built to preserve the natural surroundings. It has five galleries connected by a triangular space to display works by Monet, de Maria, and Turrell. Through a simple geometric design of concrete walls and carefully placed skylights, Ando aimed to guide visitors through varying "lightscapes" within the underground complex while maintaining the forest and salt fields above.

1. Chichu Art Museum
BY TADAO ANDO
Nidhi Thigale
T.Y.B.Arch

2. The Chichu Art Museum
Location: Naoshima, Japan
Year of Construction: 2004
• Limiting the architecture to an
underground structure
• No external design rising out of the
ground

3. The Chichu Art Museum
Concept
 Why underground?
Place where national forest abounds
former salt field
Hence to preserve the existing atmosphere and
beauty of the site the museum is wisely buried
underground.

4. The Chichu Art Museum
Concept
 It is possible to create almost any form
underground
 The outer expression of an underground
building is invisible and, therefore, the obvious
issues of form were not an issue.
 Challenge was to achieve a highly complex and
varied sequence of “lightscapes” within a
configuration of simple, geometrical forms.
 The museum was intended, holistically, to be
visited with light as a guide.

5. The Chichu Art Museum
Context
 It is built directly into the
southern portion of the
island of Naoshima in Japan.

6. The Chichu Art Museum
• ‘Chichu’ means ‘underground’
• Dark lobbies but creatively designed exhibition spaces.
• Small concrete openings and geometric skylights float among the greenery.
• There are five galleries featuring the works of three artists – Claude Monet , Walter de Mari and James
Turrell.
• The triangular space connects the galleries of the three artists.

7. The Chichu Art Museum
MATERIAL:
 Concrete
 Steel
 Glass
 Wood

8. The Chichu Art Museum
Internal Spaces

9. THANKYOU!