法隆寺寶物館

法隆寺寶物館, Tokyo, is designed by 谷口吉生 (Yoshio Taniguchi) . The museum is divided into two parts: the bright reception area and the dark exhibiting area. 谷口吉生 described his dilemma in the design process: a place open to the public but to protect the artifacts at the same time. He used a lot of glass in the structure to let natural light illuminate the reception area. The exhibiting place is only lit by very dim lights to slow down the degradation of the Asuka-period exhibits. There is a retangular water pond outside the museum. The shape of the pond is coherent with the modern and simple shape of the museum. I visited the museum in a cold December in 2005. I deeply felt the tranquility of the place.