Twins Momochi

Twins Momochi is an unusual building located, not surprisingly, in the Momochi district of Fukuoka.

From the street the building(s) look quite unremarkable, however if you venture into the courtyard you will notice something quite strange....

The buildings looks like a single building, but there is a gap of a few centimeters between the East and West wings.

It was built in 1996, but I have been unable to find out who the architect was.

It intrigues me for several reasons,... one, why?.... and secondly, how did they do it?.... it brings to mind the many times I have seen houses in Japanese cities built so close together that there is no gap between them wide enough for a human, let alone a human with tools to repair or even paint the buildings...

The previous post in this series on modern architecture of Fukuoka was on the New Fukuoka Tower.

One wing is home to the Twins Momochi Hotel, and the other is home to offices.

The New Fukuoka Tower

The New Fukuoka Tower stands next to the beach in the Momochi District of Fukuoka City.

Kouhayou is a monumental sculpture by Kyubei Kiyomizu ( 1922-2006) installed on the approach to Fukuoka Tower.

The reason it is called the New Fukuoka Tower is because an older, much smaller tower still stands at Hakata Port.

At 234 meters in height it is the tallest seaside tower in Japan, though the highest observation deck is only at 123 meters.

The final 111 meters of the tower is a TV mast.

The tower has an unusual triangular cross-section.

It was built in 1989 by Nikken Sekkei.

The elevator whisks you to the observation deck in 70 seconds.

The exterior is clad in half-mirrored glass, enabling visitors to see outside as they ride the elevator.

The tower is open from 09:30 to 22:00. Entry is 1,000 yen for adults.

In the evenings the exterior of the tower shows a variety of illumination displays, changing with the seasons and for special events.

Marizon, a pier that extends out from the beach into the sea in front of the tower is home to numerous shops and eateries.

The previous post in this series on the modern architecture of Fukuoka was on Fukuoka City Museum

Fukuoka City Museum

The Fukuoka City Museum is located in the Momochi district, an area of land reclaimed from the sea in western Fukuoka City.

The wide and spacious approach has two large areas of shallow water, which makes for great reflections.

The smallest pond had some trees around it and so offered another striking scene.

It was opened in 1990 and was designed by the AXS Satow Company.

There is a large, stand-alone arch which is purely decorative, but lines up with a similar arch at the entrance to the museum.

This makes for a very grand and monumental approach.

The main structure has a central reception hall with two main exhibition halls on either side.

These two halls are completely glazed on the exterior, and so also make for great photos.

The museum has permanent displays that showcase the history and culture of the region as well as changing special exhibitions.

Probably the most famous object on display is the gold seal given by the Chinese Emperor to the "King of Na"

I didn't go in, but reports speak very highly of the exhibits, especially considering the low entry fee of only 200 yen.

Fukuoka has a lot of interesting and innovative modern architecture, so I will be posting a lot from there for a while.