Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (国際芸術センター青森, ACAC)

The Aomori Contemporary Art Centre was founded as a project commemorating the centenary of the city of Aomori and opened in December 2001. The buildings were completed in November of that year, one month before the opening. The centre is now run by Aomori Public University.

Ando took “unseen architecture” as his theme: respecting the undulating terrain of the site and burying the buildings in the forest. The centre is made up of three buildings. The Creative Hall and the Residential Hall are two linear volumes, conceived as bridges laid along a valley; the horseshoe-shaped Exhibition Hall holds a gallery and a circular outdoor stage.

The three buildings and the arcade of the four seasons are “empty” spaces with no fixed function, meant to stimulate artists; the whole site, snow included, is designed to serve as exhibition space. The gallery has curved walls and windows that let in natural light, and several works were conceived and made for it; its floor is polished like a mirror. Ando keeps using the word “nurture” when he speaks of the architect's limits and of what the people who use the place can create.

The centre rests on three pillars: artist residencies, exhibitions and art education. It has no collection. From spring to autumn, visitors can walk in the forest of the site and see more than twenty outdoor sculptures.

The centre is open from 9:00 to 19:00, and the exhibitions from 10:00 to 18:00. It is closed from 29 December to 3 January, and on days tied to the university entrance examinations. Admission is free.

From Aomori Station, a JR or city bus takes about 40 minutes to the Aomori Public University stop.