National Western Art Museum Tokyo

Le Corbusier – National Western Art Museum, Tokyo Japan,1959

The National Museum of Western Art designed by Le Corbusier was the main public art gallery in Japan specializing in Western art. The museum is located in the museum complex and zoo in Ueno Park in Taito, in central Tokyo. The museum is also known by the English acronym NMWA (National Museum of Western Art).

The museum has a square plan with the main body of the galleries on the first floor raised on pilotis. The layout is influenced by Le Corbusier's Sanskar Kendra museum in Ahmedabad, designed at the same time.
Externally the building is covered with prefabricated concrete panels that are located on U-shaped frames supported by the inner wall. The building is constructed of reinforced concrete and the columns have a smooth concrete finish.