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Past Exhibitions
[Fun with Collection]
Le Corbusier and the Museum of Unlimited Growth – Understanding this Ideal

[Fun with Collection]
Le Corbusier and the Museum of Unlimited Growth – Understanding this Ideal

Dates
Saturday 9 July 2016 - Monday 19 September 2016
Hours
9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Fridays 9:30 am - 8:00 pm
Every Friday 9:30 am - 8:30 pm in August
Admission ends 30 mins. before closing time
Closed
Mondays except 18 July, 15 August and 19 September. Closed on19 July
Venue
Prints and Drawings Gallery, NMWA
Organized by
The National Museum of Western Art
Admission Fees
Adults 430 yen (220 yen), College students 130 yen (70 yen)
Numbers in parentheses indicate discount fees for groups of 20 or more.
Admission is free for Special Exhibition or Permanent Collection ticket holders.
Visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and older are admitted free of charge. Please show your ID upon entrance to confirm your age.
Disabled visitors admitted free of charge, with one attendant. Please present your disability identification upon arrival.

On July, 2016, the 40th meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Committee added “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement,” structures located in seven countries worldwide and including the NMWA Main Building, to the World Heritage Sites Register. This exhibition consisting of panel displays, models and videos introduces the features of the Le Corbusier-designed Main Building to all those who are visiting the museum on the occasion of this World Heritage designation.

Le Corbusier, the master of modern architecture who was primarily active in France, sometimes developed prototypes for his buildings, just like in the automobile or furniture design process. Le Corbusier would draw repeated images of the building he was envisioning as he planned its features. The NMWA Main Building was built on the basis of the Museum of Unlimited Growth prototype.

This exhibition begins with the history of how the NMWA was established, and then explores Le Corbusier’s theories about architecture suitable for the modern age, the concepts and features of his Museum of Unlimited Growth, and which elements of his Museum of Unlimited Growth prototype were realized in the NMWA Main Building. Site limitations meant that the building could not be expanded in line with his concepts as the museum’s collection grew, but the features that were realized ably demonstrate his Museum of Unlimited Growth concept. We hope that visitors to the museum will view this exhibition and experience the actual spaces and features of the Main Building, thus deepening their understanding of Le Corbusier’s architecture and ideas.

Slide talks and drop-in workshops will be held in conjunction with this exhibition. See the relevant website pages for details on these programs.

image: Main Building
Main Building 1959,
Photo by Tokyo Photo Art

image: 19th Century Hall
19th Century Hall 1959
Photo by Tokyo Photo Art