Keith Haring Museum
site : Kobuchisawa, Yamanashi Prefecture
complete year : 2007
usage : art museum, spa
site area : 18,438 m2
gross floor area : 1,247 m2
structure : RC, timber, steel
architect : Atsushi Kitagawara Architects
contractor : Taisei Corporation
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The museum houses a large private collection of work by graffi ti artist Keith Haring. Three gallery spaces are supplemented by a shop, café, secondary spaces, and garden area. There is also a hot spring facility and small guest house to the rear. The architect, Atsushi Kitagawara, is perhaps Japan’s most sculpturally inclined architect, often endowing his buildings with a moulded physical presence often extending through both finishes and structure.
From a structural perspective for the maintenance, cost, and appearance considerations concrete was chosen as the main structural material for the whole building. The concave roof meant that tension naturally developed and was not easily carried in a conventional reinforced concrete slab or shell without the danger of cracking. Post-tensioning of the slab was considered but rejected due to cost considerations. We decided that the most suitable approach would be to first construct a minimal weight steel grillage following the form of the roof. This would both serve to support the shuttering for a concrete slab above, in addition to carrying some of the tension and bending forces developed in the roof. The result is a composite steel-concrete slab which could be constructed with a minimum of temporary works/support from below.
The museum was extended in 2015 to provide more gallery and storage space. Hotel Atelier was also constructed on an adjacent site to provide accommodation for visitors wishing to spend more time visiting both the museum and the spectacular alpine surroundings.
