Kengo Kuma's design for the Albert Kahn Museum in Paris masterfully integrates nature and architecture, creating a space that embodies Kahn's global vision and his fascination with Japanese gardens and Asian culture.
Nestled on the southern edge of the Bois de Boulogne, this museum bridges the historical and the contemporary, harmoniously merging the natural beauty of Kahn's gardens with innovative design. Albert Kahn, a visionary French merchant and philanthropist, dedicated his life to documenting global diversity, capturing over 72,000 color photographs and 183,000 meters of film that depict life across continents, especially in Asia. His archives, a visual testimony of early 20th-century life, form the heart of the museum’s collection.
Kengo Kuma’s architectural intervention seamlessly intertwines the museum with the surrounding landscapes, particularly the Japanese garden, a reflection of Kahn's admiration for Japan. The building’s extended linear layout mirrors the pathways that meander through these gardens, allowing visitors to experience the flow between interior spaces and nature. A screen made of aluminum and wood acts as a threshold, subtly regulating the visual and physical interactions between the museum's exhibition spaces and the lush environment beyond. Kuma’s design evokes Kahn’s dream of creating a living space where art, architecture, and nature coexist in perfect equilibrium.
The materiality of the museum itself embodies this fusion. On the city-facing side, aluminum dominates, projecting a modern, urban façade, while the garden-facing side is clad primarily in wood, creating a warm, organic contrast. These materials blend fluidly at points, mimicking a biological skin that adapts to its environment. This gradation between wood and metal serves as a metaphor for the museum’s underlying concept—merging different worlds, histories, and cultural expressions into a cohesive whole.
