Displaying items by tag: fumihiko maki

Between wooded ravines north-east of downtown Toronto in Canada, a cone jutting upwards from beige limestone shares a seven-hectare site with a massive rectangle in elegant white granite that resembles an open box. Both structures form a bridge between the tradition and culture of the Islamic world and the present and future of Canada.

The Aga Khan Museum, the 4,370-square-metre chiselled white form, opened to the public on Thursday. Clad in Brazilian granite, it houses the collection of the Aga Khan, the imam of the Ismaili community, in a structure designed by the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki.

The Victoria & Albert Museum has signed an agreement to work together with developer China Merchants Group to realize China’s first major cultural institution dedicated to design. Located in the city of Shenzhen, the ‘Shekou Museum’ scheme has been conceived by Fumihiko Maki, and is being built on the site of the Shenzhen Sea World Cultural Arts Center also created by the Japanese architect.

Of the project, British Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘This pioneering collaboration between the world’s leading museum of art and design and China Merchants Group is a fine example of British expertise fostering fruitful bi-lateral partnerships which contribute to the growth of the creative economy. I wish this innovative endeavour to be a resounding success and I applaud the leading role China Merchants Group and the V&A are playing in strengthening china-UK cultural relationships.’