About Ichihara Lakeside Museum
Ichihara Lakeside Museum is a museum rich in nature, overlooking Lake Takataki.
The museum was established in 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the city of Ichihara, due to the renewal of the cultural and tourist facility “Ichihara City Water and Sculpture Hill” which had opened in 1995.
Taking advantage of its excellent location on the shore of Lake Takataki, approximately an hour's drive from Tokyo, the museum aims to serve as “an oasis within the metropolitan area” where visitors can enjoy not only art but also various indoor and outdoor activities.
Engaged in organizing and presenting 1) exhibitions centered on contemporary art, 2) workshops open to local communities and children, 3) community activities that develop outwards, it is a unique museum that plays a central role in "building a foundation for continuous community revitalization by communicating and sharing through art” as promoted by the city of Ichihara.
Designated Administrator
Concept
Ichihara Lakeside Museum organizes exhibitions and events based on five key concepts.
- 1.Projects that consider “ways of perceiving the world.”
- 2.International projects that invite and/or collaborate with overseas artists and cultural facilities
- 3.Projects that attempt to present new art and forms of expression
- 4.Projects that are rooted in the community
- 5.Projects that children can enjoy
Based on five key concepts, the museum holds diverse exhibitions across a wide range of genres, from art, architecture, and design, to music and folklore.
The museum presents a permanent exhibition centered on the works of Yukio Fukazawa, a revered copperplate artist of Japan’s postwar art scene, and an honorary citizen of the city of Ichihara.
The “Ichihara Lakeside Museum Children’s Paintings Exhibition” is held every year, inviting the submission of works from elementary school-aged and younger children in the city of Ichihara. It is a unique exhibition curated by front line artists and designers.
With the catchphrase "It’s a fine day! Why don’t you visit Ichihara?" the museum holds picnics and workshops that take advantage of the lakeside environment.
As a core facility of “Boso Satoyama Art Festival: Ichihara Art x Mix” that takes place once every three years amidst the beautiful rural scenery of Ichihara’s Satoyama, the museum holds a variety of exhibitions and events linked to the festival.
Message from the Director
Ichihara Lakeside Museum is a small museum on the shores of an artificial lake in a Satoyama located within Japan’s Boso Peninsula.
The museum engages in its activities with the aim of “firmly grounding itself within the Satoyama, while looking towards the world through a vast and open perspective."
In addition, we hope to operate it as an oasis within the metropolitan area that is rooted in the community where children are able to have fun and embrace new and exciting experiences.
Director Fram Kitagawa
FRAM KITAGAWA
Architecture
Ichihara Lakeside Museum was established in 2013 due to the renewal of the cultural and tourist facility “Ichihara City Water and Sculpture Hill” which had opened in 1995. A renovation proposal composition that was quite rare at the time had been implemented (Chief Judge: Toyo Ito), and the design plan by Kawaguchi Tei Architects was selected from amongst 231 applications.
All the finishing materials of the existing building have been removed to leave only the concrete structure, within which new “art walls” made of steel folded plates are incorporated in an interwoven manner to create a variety of spaces including galleries, a hall, and a lounge. Making optimal use of the building’s unique framework with its navigability due to its original slopes and stairs, the museum enables visitors to cohesively experience a variety of things such as the old and new, works of art and diverse activities, the lake and surrounding lush green environment while seamlessly strolling through the inside and outside of the building.
Renovation Design
Kawaguchi Tei Architects
Logo and Signage
A logo that reflects the location and attractive scenery
Ichihara Lakeside Museum stands on the shores of Lake Takataki, which is blessed with a rich natural environment. Its charm is conveyed through the symbol mark consisting of an array of straight lines that envision the lake’s surface.
Signage that connects the entire site through dots
The building of the museum gives the impression as if being outside while indoors. Signage based on pixel-like graphics similar to the logo is displayed throughout the museum so as to accentuate its architectural design that draws on the use of rough textures and materials. The entire site is cohesively brought together by connecting it through small dots, such as pictograms and text created through the accumulation of pixels, and guide signs that connect the fields with dotted lines that link one place to another.
Design Direction
YOSHIAKI IROBE / NIPPON DESIGN CENTER INC.
Permanent Works
Ichihara Lakeside Museum is home to artworks that are integrated with the architecture, as well as those that resonate with the surrounding nature and landscape.
Links
FOLLOW US