Kengo Kuma & Associates' design for the new Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM) in Eskisehir, Turkey, is undoubtedly an arresting sight.
To see the 4,500-square-meter three-story contemporary building of wooden stacked structures nestled between the traditional vernacular architecture of Odunpazari, Eskisehir's oldest settlement area, makes it all the more striking — but this, it seems, is by design.
Having a Japanese architect design a museum in a setting so intrinsically linked with Turkey's national identity and culture may seem odd to some, but art aficionado Erol Tabanca — construction tycoon, founder of the OMM and owner of its over 1,000 collection of artworks — offers one economically sound objective. At the press conference of the museum's opening on Sept. 8, he mentions how Frank Gehry's iconic design of the Guggenheim in Bilbao significantly boosted international attention and tourism. Kuma's vision, Tabanca believes, has the star quality that could do the same for Eskisehir.