The Chichu Art Museum was constructed in 2004. It was created as a site that shows the relationship between nature and people. The museum was built mostly underground in order to avoid affecting the beautiful natural scenery of the Seto Inland Sea. The artists and architect bounced ideas off of each other. This caused the museum to be seen as a very large site-specific artwork.
The art space which contains a sphere 2.2 meters in diameter and 27 gilded wooden geometric forms. These were created by Walter De Maria as an artwork. Viewers can experience this space under the natural light that comes in from the ceiling. This light produces dramatic changes in the rooms illumination depending on the hour.
The materials that were used to create this museum create a minimalist look. The main material that was used was concrete, but there is also steel, glass, and wood. Since it was built almost entirely underground, the museum balances the contradictory qualities of being both non-monumental, but highly architectural.
