The “Kurashiki City Art Museum” as a Building: Unraveling the Vision Behind the Former Kurashiki City Office Building, Designed by World-Renowned Architect Kenzo Tange (Kurashiki Architecture Journey, Vol. 6)

Did you know that Kurashiki is home to a building designed by architect Kenzo Tange, who also designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Yoyogi National Gymnasium, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and was known in Japan as “Tange of the World”?

It is the “Kurashiki City Art Museum.”

The Kurashiki City Art Museum opened in 1983, about 40 years ago. I had thought this historic building was “not very museum-like,” but with good reason: it was originally the city hall (the former Kurashiki City Hall building).

In modern terms, it is “a building renovated into an art museum.” Its dignified auditorium (originally the council chamber) and open entrance (originally the citizens’ hall) are among the features whose basic structure has remained unchanged since its days as city hall.

The Kurashiki City Art Museum, when it served as city hall, embodied many hopes and visions for the future, and they remain there to this day.

This article examines the “Kurashiki City Art Museum (former Kurashiki City Hall building)” as a work of architecture.

What is the Kurashiki City Art Museum (former Kurashiki City Hall building)?

The Kurashiki City Art Museum (former Kurashiki City Hall building) was completed on June 11, 1960, as the Kurashiki City Hall building.

Its designer was architect Kenzo Tange, who already had a top-tier reputation and track record in Japan’s architectural industry at the time.

Tange is said to have described his design approach as follows:

“I designed it to be a building befitting Kurashiki City’s traditions and modern development, and one that would also serve as a source of support for its citizens.”

It later became too small following the merger of Kurashiki, Kojima, and Tamashima, and the city moved to a new city hall building in June 1980 (now the Kurashiki City Office Main Building).

As a result, its use as city hall lasted only “20 years.” However, plans for using the site began before the move to the new building, and in 1980 the Board of Education announced its policy that “the former city hall would be best suited as an art museum.”

Renovation work was completed in 1983, and it opened as the Kurashiki City Art Museum.

Together with the Kurashiki Central Library and Kurashiki Museum of Natural History, which opened at the same time, it forms a cultural facilities district that continues to this day.

Here is a summary of its history.

TANGE Architectural Design

TANGE Architectural Design is an architectural firm founded by architect Kenzo Tange, known as “Tange of the World,” and chaired by Noritaka Tange.

TANGE Architectural Design

The original plan called for a “Citizens’ Plaza” north of the building and a “Public Hall” opposite it

The Kurashiki City Art Museum’s most distinctive feature is undoubtedly its impressive exterior, which looks like exposed concrete.

It is hard to believe this modern building is just a few minutes’ walk from the Bikan Historical Area, whose streetscape harmonizes Western and modern architecture with traditional wooden buildings dating back to the Edo period.

In fact, when it was first built, it really was “bare concrete.”

However, exposure to wind and rain caused it to deteriorate quickly, so it was later painted.

Look closely from nearby and you can see that it has been “painted.”

The original plans may help explain why the building was made so imposing that it can even feel somewhat intimidating.

When plans were first drawn up for the Kurashiki City Hall building, the following were to be included:

• A “Citizens’ Plaza” north of the building
• A “Public Hall” facing the building

Although the plan was never realized, the second floor of the Kurashiki City Art Museum features a structure resembling a “podium facing north.”

Perhaps it was intended to evoke a scene of the Kurashiki mayor giving a speech to the citizens.

The entrance hall and auditorium retain traces of the city hall era

The interior has the same imposing presence and dignified atmosphere.

Upon entering, visitors are welcomed by an open entrance hall.

This space has an atrium more than 10 meters high, creating an open feel while also making a powerful impression with the massive beams that support it.

It was originally designed as a citizens’ hall. Though open and spacious, it evokes something like civic pride more than a community space.

The current main building of Kurashiki City Office (designed by Urabe Chintaro) also has a civic hall, positioned as a ceremonial space that is used only on limited occasions and conveys a strong sense of civic spirit.

Perhaps the same idea can also be found in the civic hall at Kurashiki City Art Museum.

Also, the area said to have received the most attention from Kenzo Tange in the interior is the “assembly chamber (now the auditorium)”.

Said to have been modeled on the interior of the Ronchamp Chapel, the assembly chamber is now open to the public as an auditorium and is used for lectures and other events.

Its distinctive features include curved interior walls that look as if they have been sprayed with mortar and an upward-curving ceiling. The seats and other furnishings were installed when it was renovated into an auditorium, but the atmosphere of the room remains as it was then.

Kurashiki-born architect Urabe Chintaro was also involved

Incidentally, why did Kenzo Tange, an architect already known both in Japan and abroad in the 1950s, design the Kurashiki City Hall building?

Here, Urabe Chintaro, who worked as a maintenance engineer at Kurashiki Silk Textile Co., Ltd. (now Kuraray), was involved.

Urabe later worked on many of Kurashiki’s modern buildings, including the design of Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel and the renovation of Kurashiki Ivy Square. At the time, the mayor of Kurashiki, a classmate of his since middle school, apparently asked him for advice on what to do.

Urabe reportedly recommended Kenzo Tange, saying, “Let’s ask Professor Tange,” but the reason for the recommendation was “because the budget was small”.

It seems somewhat contradictory to recommend Kenzo Tange, already a famous architect at the time, despite the limited budget.

However, it seems they judged that having a Tange-designed building would bring significant publicity, and that because he would not haggle over construction costs, the project would ultimately be inexpensive.

Then, together with Ohara Soichiro, Urabe went to ask Tange to design the city hall. On that occasion, Ohara Soichiro said:

“The new city hall does not need to face the traditional townhouses. Make the townhouses face the city hall instead.”

That is what he reportedly said.

Later, Urabe Chintaro undertook the renovation into a municipal art museum.

• A service wing equipped with an elevator for transporting artworks, essential for an art museum, was added on the west side.
• The first floor incorporated a children’s library, and the northwest section was connected to the newly built municipal library.

These were the only two major changes. The building was given the functions of an art museum while preserving the characteristics of Tange’s architecture as much as possible.

Urabe Chintaro left the following words. They show not only his attachment to the former city hall, but also his respect for Kenzo Tange, whose involvement he himself had helped bring about.

“The former city hall is one of the most distinctive works among Tange’s creations. I thought only of making the most of those characteristics.”

A closer look at the exterior and interior of Kurashiki City Art Museum (former Kurashiki City Hall building)

Now, let’s take a look at Kurashiki City Art Museum, focusing on the building itself.

Exterior

Entrance hall (formerly the civic hall)

Looking north from the second floor

Auditorium (formerly the council chamber)

Rooftop stage on the third floor (currently closed to visitors and unavailable for use)

From the Writer

The author was born in 1979.

Kurashiki City Art Museum took its current form in 1983, so I have no memories of when it was the city hall; I only know it in its current form (the cultural facilities zone, including Kurashiki Central Library and Kurashiki Museum of Natural History).

I used to go to the library and other places often, and wondered, “Why are the city’s cultural facilities clustered so close to a tourist destination like the Bikan Historical Area?”

Kurashiki is a car-oriented society, and weekend traffic jams are commonplace. I imagine that was not much different then than it is now.

However, looking back at the plans from when the former Kurashiki City Office building was built, I learned that the area centered around the present-day Kurashiki City Art Museum was designated as “a place open to the public.”

According to the “Kurashiki City Hall and Other Facilities Reorganization Basic Plan,” announced in April 2021, the current cultural facilities zone will be reorganized in the near future.

• The City Art Museum will be upgraded to extend its service life
• The Museum of Natural History will be relocated to the Life Park Kurashiki site and rebuilt
• The Central Library will be relocated to a newly built “Complex Facility Building” near the main city hall building

For this reason, discussions about how to use the vacated site will likely become more active in the future. As long as the City Art Museum remains, I hope it will continue to be “a place open to the public.”

Kurashiki City Art Museum — a “lifelong learning facility” not only for viewing artworks, but also as a place for citizens to present their work and for children to learn

Kurashiki City Art Museum is a 10-minute walk from JR Kurashiki Station. The museum is distinguished by its imposing building. Together with Kurashiki Central Library and Kurashiki Museum of Natural History, it forms Kurashiki City’s cultural facilities zo…

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