Symbiosis Between Nature and Art

Symbiosis Between Nature and Art
- Pola Museum of Art -

The art gallery surrounded by the nature of Hakone-Sengokuhara. The aboveground part has been kept to a height of eight meters so the building is hidden in the trees.

Located at the foot of the Sengokuhara hills and Mt. Kozuka in the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, the Pola Museum of Art is in the middle of a forest surrounded by natural trees, including towering beech trees over 300 years old and clusters of Stewartia monadelpha. The museum displays almost 9,500 world-class pieces that were collected for more than 40 years by the late owner of the Pola Group, Tsuneshi Suzuki.
With the concept of "symbiosis between nature and art," the challenge of the design was how to construct a museum that could coexist with the natural environment, with the requirement not to cause any damage to the existing plant ecosystem. After conducting detailed studies of the plants and animals, the topography, the geology and water flows of the large site, it was decided to position the museum where it would cause the least influence on the environment, away from any swamps or valleys, and to keep the aboveground part to a height of eight meters so the building would be hidden in the trees.



	The approach bridge leading to the glass-walled entrance hall

	The display space using optical fiber lighting, for the best art appreciation and preservation

	The atrium lobby up to the second aboveground floor

Also, because the building formed by the total base isolation structure floats on a circular trench, people who visit the museum and the works of art are protected from earthquakes and high humidity, and it has been designed to allow future access to all parts to enable eternal maintenance. After entering the windowed entrance hall from the approach bridge, the scenery of Mt. Kozuka appears through a large window on the left, and the atrium extending down to the second basement level can be seen, enabling even first visitors to the museum to instantly grasp the layout.
Construction-wise, because most of the building is below the ground level, one of the major problems was how to efficiently take out the huge 66,000 cubic meter amount of soil with an approximate 30 percent content of stones. Also, government regulations, and guidance by government agencies and neighbors based on the environmental assessment, also became important conditions. An extremely high level of quality was required for the interior and exterior finishing, including the top light in the middle of the building made using a huge sheet of glass, the molded glass used for the light walls for the lobby, and the exposed concrete PC boards used for the display rooms and lobby ceiling. By making construction considerations from the design stage, a high-quality construction was attained.

Client	POLA Art Foundation
Location	1285 Kozukayama, Sengokuhara, Hakone-machi, Ashigarasimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Design	Nikken Sekkei
Construction	Takenaka Corporation
Structure	Steel and Steel-framed reinforced concrete, Base isolation structure
Number of floors	2 fl. above and 3 fl. below ground
Building area	3,389 m²
Total floor space	8,098 m²