High-profile Japanese architect Kengo Kuma's firm has unveiled an interesting design for an art museum in Turkey that's based on interlocking stacked wooden boxes. Though it's still just a concept at present, we hope the Odunpazari Modern Art Museum does indeed go ahead, as it has the potential to become something special.
The Odunpazari Modern Art Museum is slated for Eskisehir in northwest Turkey, in a newly-developed urban area called Odunpazar, which the firm says means wood market in Turkish.
Traditional Ottoman-era wooden houses lie nearby and their cantilevering design is reflected in the form of the museum. Comprising large stacked timber box-like structures of various size, the museum's unusual shape would allow for lots of different-sized exhibition areas inside.
Natural light is gained by skylight and the renders also depict gaps in between the wooden slats (presumably these would need to be covered with glass). The total floorspace would come to 3,582 sq m (38,556 sq ft).
"The stacked and interlocked boxes are designed in various sizes to create diverse scales of exhibition space inside," explains the firm. "Boxes at the ground level offer opportunities for large scale art works and installation. The boxes get smaller at upper levels to exhibit smaller, intimate scale art works."
The project was conceived for a private owner to exhibit a collection of Turkish modern art. At this early stage there's not a whole lot of information available – such as the odds of it actually being built – but we'll keep you informed.
Source: Kengo Kuma and Associates
