Opened in 2004 in the center of Kanazawa, near the famous Kenroku-en garden, this museum of contemporary art was designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the firm SANAA. It is among the most visited art museums in the world.
The building is a single low circle, about 370 feet across, wrapped in glass. The round shape keeps the building low and lets visitors enter from several sides, and its transparency keeps it from feeling like a large, closed box. Public spaces such as a library and children's workshop line the edge, while the galleries sit inside like separate rooms of different sizes and heights, some lit by daylight through glass ceilings.
Among the large works on permanent display is Leandro Erlich's Swimming Pool. The museum's logo is simply its own round floor plan.
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