Kobe City Museum

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Lighting to create a lively atmosphere and joy of walking in the Former Foreign Settlement.

The Kobe City Museum, standing in the Former Foreign Settlement of Kobe, opened as a new cultural museum in 1982 by integrating the Municipal Namban Art Museum and the Archaeology Museum.

The surrounding area was once a foreign residence that flourished in the Meiji era and after, and is the center of the port town, Kobe. The building was converted from the former Yokohama Specie Bank's Kobe Branch, which was completed in 1935. Designed by Mr. Kotaro Sakurai, this neoclassical style building with Doric columns in the façade was once said to be an architectural masterpiece of the early Showa period, and was designated as a National registered cultural property in 1998.

After 35 years since its opening, a revision was made to the museum's facilities and exhibition space. Mr. Yukimasa Otani, the museum's director explained, "In order to make the museum more open and familiar to the community, we reviewed the exhibition plan from the foundation, making the first floor a free zone and creating a specialized exhibition room on the second floor for approximately 70,000 items in the collection, including national treasures and important cultural assets.

At the same time, the museum was renovated so that it can be lit up with different color effects at night according to the seasons and events. The aim is to create a lively atmosphere by harmonizing with the surrounding cityscape and nighttime scenery, as well as enhancing people's flow and joy of walking around the city.

Kobe has the DNA of accepting and spreading new things from overseas. I hope that we can continue to promote various activities with the local community in order to brush up the Former Foreign Settlement and the Kobe brand."

Architecture Design Report vol. 33/Issued in May 2020
Note: Company names and job titles are as of the time of publication.