Ando Museum

Products used: Swanage Handmade Restoration Red Brick

Project location: Karuizawa, Tokyo

The only museum in the world dedicated to the works of Japanese-French painter Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, the Musée Ando à Karuizawa lies just one-hour outside of Tokyo, in the mountainous town of its namesake Karuizawa.

Following a 20-year period of collecting and displaying Foujita’s works in their own home, couple Yasushi and Megumi Ando conceptualised Musée Ando à Karuizawa, with the goal of building a space that would feel more like a home than a museum to its visitors; offering them tranquility as they explore Foujita’s famous works.

So passionate were the couple about bringing their homely and individualistic vision to life, they incorporated a courtyard into the building’s plans and set out to

import handmade bricks from the UK, as tribute to the English home they had spent many years living in, prior to the build of Musée Ando à Karuizawa.

Not only did the bricks chosen for the project need to meet the aesthetic requirements of brief, but they also needed to be a practical choice, given Japan’s climate and frequent seismic activity.

Noting the complexities of the build and the brick’s ability to meet the varied needs of the project, the architect chose Ibstock’s Swanage Handmade Restoration Brick to make the 6,000-mile journey over to Karuizawa for the museum build.

The brick was chosen for the external leaf of the cavity walls, covering the internal leaf consisting of 250mm thick reinforced concrete sprayed with foam installation, noting its resilience, given that Japan is one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world.

Not only this, but the brick was selected also owing to its warm colour and earthy texture, which integrates well with the location’s natural beauty, whilst creating the desired homely look and feel.

The brick-clad exterior wall feeds into the interior, in the middle of the museum’s west façade, flowing out to form the outer walls of the courtyard, inspired by the Ando’s English home.

The gaps between the brick walls boast glass curtain walls, creating two contrasting open and closed elements. The closed space, encouraging visitors to immerse themselves in the works of Foujita, while the open space allows them to connect with the nature of Karuizawa.

Further practical benefits include the thermal efficiency and moisture control granted by the brick-clad cavity walls, which helped to reduce the museum’s air conditioning by 62%, compared to the project’s initial estimate.

Additionally, the Swanage Handmade Restoration Brick offers both a practical, durable and sustainable solution which guarantees longevity, making it an ideal choice for a privately managed museum in order to drive down operational costs.

The choice of the brick has enabled the Ando’s to realise their dream of creating a homely environment that not only embraces the idyllic surroundings of Karuizawa but also allows visitors to enjoy art in a safe and purpose-built space.