Kengo Kuma & Associates has designed the Edogawa City Eiko Kadono Children's Literature Museum (tentative name), a new cultural venue where the young can experience the imaginary world envisioned by acclaimed Japanese children book author Eiko Kadono. Located on the banks of the Edogawa river and within the natural setting of Nagisa Park in Tokyo, the project features an array of volumes following the hill's slope and an overhanging roof that expands towards the landscape.
A prolific writer and the 2018 recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Author, Eiko Kadono is best known for works like "Kiki's Delivery Service", a story that inspired Studio Ghibli's famous 1989 film adaptation directed by Hayao Miyazaki. As the author is being honoured with a museum in her name, Kengo Kuma & Associates based the design of the new cultural space on the fictional town portrayed in the best-selling novel.
The pavilion structure is a nod to the tiny houses in the stories of Kadono, while the roof spreads outwards like a blossoming flower, unifying the composition. The designers describe the project as a place where "you can experience the world of Eiko Kadono with all five senses while feeling the rich nature of the park." The museum has plans to recreate the fictional townscape from "Kiki's Delivery Service", using projection mapping. Other amenities include reading rooms and a replica of the author's atelier. The project is scheduled to open in the summer of 2023.
- Location: Nagisa Park, Edogawa City, Tokyo, Japan
- Area: 1,600㎡
- Structure Design: Ejiri Engineers
- MEP Design: Kankyo Engineering
- Landscape Design: CROSS・POINT
- Display Design: NOMURA Co., Ltd.
