NAOSHIMA 直島町 MIYANOURA PORT

10x8

Naoshima is filled with enough interesting and even beautiful art and architecture that reasonably creative, curious people should leave bewildered and happy. For example: this bike and motorcycle storage facility located in the arrival port of Miyanoura was designed by SANAA, the architects of the adjacent ferry terminal. When critics of architecture look for examples of “biomimicry,” they should point at this thing. It is both rough and shiny, and looks a bit like a gigantic version of ikura イクラ - salmon roe. SANAA’s semi-opaque fiberglass spheres have been carefully fitted together around a seismically appropriate traditional wooden frame. What a great decision to eschew a steel frame in favor of wood, for material contrast and earthiness. Naoshima’s corporate benefactor - Benesse Holdings / Fukutake Foundation - funded and promoted the restoration and transformation of this beautiful island - once beset with industrial pollution from copper smelting operations. They have created an immersive and spiritual destination for people who love art and cycling. The Chichu Art Museum, designed for Benesse by architect Tadao Ando, is astounding. It should be listed as a world pilgrimage site for both architects and artists.