The exhibition design was organized around the display of the artifacts within four time periods, Meiji, Art Deco, Pop, and Zen.  Conceptually the gallery was divided into four quadrants around the perimeter, allowing for those periods to be understood as a linear, chronological sequence.  Simultaneously, a middle zone, the area of Face to Face, provided alternative readings of the chronology by allowing and, in fact at times encouraging, viewers to glance between the various periods to reveal other relationships.

Face to Face was a display of black and white photographs of everyday Japanese women from the different time periods to reveal changing conceptions of beauty and the influence of western cultures on eastern identity.  It was a zone of interaction “inviting visitors to reflect upon their own cultural values and the choices of identity that characterize modern life.”  It allowed both the chance and the predetermined alignments of specific objects and of the people viewing the exhibition.  It was a space of interpretation, a space between.  Face to Face reversed the conditions of inside and outside, interiority and exteriority, by allowing specific parts of the exhibition to be viewed from the “back” while inside was a more intimate gallery of faces. The interstitial space of Face to Face allowed for the possibility that connections would be made across groupings, that histories may be shared, or that viewers would come face to face with each other.

One of the primary goals was to provide an intimate teaching environment for large classes by minimizing the need for amplified sound. Through the use of a computer generated acoustical model of the space, certain material and geometry characteristics were developed which influenced the final design. A custom gradated perforated pattern on the wall panels, which were fabricated directly from design files, allowed sound to reflect from the front of the space and be absorbed toward the back. The curved ceiling geometry also reinforced the sound projection throughout the space creating evenly distributed sound levels suitable for both teaching and large events.

Like many institutional projects, construction was completed during the summer on all of these projects when the programs and uses would be least affected.

The geometry of the ticket booth counters was derived from studies of the ergonomic needs of the booth attendants who are stationary inside the booths and the museum visitors who queue up and move around the outside of the booths from the lobby to the museum. Each booth accommodates two attendants who face opposite directions. All ticketing equipment is placed around the attendant to allow efficient transactions with each visitor while the exterior configuration of the booths and the placement of related pieces (guard station and brochure stands) encourage smooth and continuous movement from the lobby through the ticketing process to the museum.

A combination of clear and translucent glass surfaces exploit the abundant natural light from an adjacent courtyard to continually transform the visual effect of the ticket booths from solid to reflective to transparent as one moves from the lobby to the museum. The effects range from a reflection of adjacent art to virtual disappearance from the glow of natural light.

The ticket booths were fabricated as layers of solid surfacing material and glass over a steel skeletal frame on wheels to allow their removal during special events and museum openings.

This project coincided with a school wide evaluation of how the curriculum could respond to the emergence of these new technologies.

In contrast to models of teaching based on the hierarchy of information flowing from instructor to the students, using computer technologies as instruments of discovery encourages interactive, project-based learning that leads to more complex collaborative teaching models and the potential for more independent learning through interactive media.

The organization of the new Design Center explicitly addressed this condition by carefully structuring visual, programmatic and technological links between the corridor, gallery, workstations, theater, and study cubicles to form an integrated learning environment.

In what could be referred to as an expanded context, the library has evolved from being a container of information to being a node on a diverse and open network. Its status is judged not only by the material collection but by the ability to efficiently connect users with information, both inside and outside its physical boundaries.

In a library such as the Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library, the ownership and the archiving of materials is as equally important as the electronic access to information. The building represents the accessibility of all types of information – both material and electronic through the fluid connections between inside and outside and the (visually) fluid boundaries between accessible and closed areas. The space of information exchange, while encouraging exchanges between readers by becoming a crossroads within the library, acknowledges that some readers may be in remote locations and would therefore become an electronic crossroads as well.