Cover At teamLab Biovortex Kyoto, one of Asia's new museums, Silent Radiance Within features oversized digital chrysanthemums that bloom and decay in a darkened gallery where flowers appear to grow from floor to ceiling. (Photo: teamLab, Silent Radiance Within © teamLab)
At teamLab Biovortex Kyoto, one of Asia's new museums, Silent Radiance Within features oversized digital chrysanthemums that bloom and decay in a darkened gallery where flowers appear to grow from floor to ceiling. (Photo: teamLab, Silent Radiance Within © teamLab)
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From Shigeru Ban’s floating galleries in Hiroshima to SANAA's transparent pavilions in Taiwan, new museums in Asia are combining architectural innovation, immersive programming and civic function
Nine new museums in Asia opened or reopened between 2019 and 2025, each built for how people move through space rather than simply what’s on display. Shigeru Ban’s galleries float on water in Hiroshima. Sanaa’s transparent volumes rise from a park in Taiwan. teamLab fills a Kyoto building with darkened rooms of reactive light.
These projects span seven cities and pair international architects with local practices. They function as civic gathering spaces where contemporary art appears alongside traditional culture, and where public programming extends beyond the gallery into parks, plazas, and rooftop gardens. Here are nine that demonstrate how museums are expanding their role in urban life.
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1. teamLab Biovortex, Kyoto
The Way of Birds creates immersive projections of natural forms and flight patterns across gallery walls and floors (Photo: teamLab, The Way of Birds © teamLab)
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teamLab opened its largest museum in Japan in October 2025. The permanent installation occupies 10,000 square meters near Kyoto Station and presents over 50 artworks centred on environmental phenomena. The collective’s signature approach to immersive digital environments is evident in installations such as Massless Amorphous Sculpture, a floating bubble form that shifts in response to viewers and atmospheric conditions.
Above Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House is an interactive installation that creates infinite reflections as children and adults move through the space (Photo:teamLab, Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House © teamLab)
Above Megaliths present towering crystalline structures that fragment and refract projected light across the gallery (Photo: teamLab, Megaliths in the Eternal Existence of the Open Universe © teamLab)
Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House is an interactive installation that creates infinite reflections as children and adults move through the space (Photo:teamLab, Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House © teamLab)
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Visitors move through darkened galleries illuminated by reactive light installations. Physical presence and digital projection occupy the same space. The museum includes educational zones and interactive areas where visitors create and manipulate digital imagery in real time.
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2. Tokyo Node, Toranomon Hills
Above Tokyo Node occupies the upper floors of Oma’s 266-meter Toranomon Hills Station Tower. The cultural facility includes exhibition spaces, a performance theatre, and a rooftop pool with views across central Tokyo and Tokyo Tower (Photo: Mori Building Co)
Above Occupying one of the tower’s upper levels, the Vertical Theatre at Tokyo Node frames panoramic city views through floor-to-ceiling windows (Photo: Mori Building Co)
Tokyo Node occupies the upper floors of Oma’s 266-meter Toranomon Hills Station Tower. The cultural facility includes exhibition spaces, a performance theatre, and a rooftop pool with views across central Tokyo and Tokyo Tower (Photo: Mori Building Co)
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Oma’s Shohei Shigematsu completed the 266-meter Toranomon Hills Station Tower in 2023, anchoring the final phase of Mori Building’s decade-long urban development. The tower integrates directly with Tokyo Metro’s Hibiya Line, creating a transportation hub in central Tokyo. Tokyo Node occupies the building’s upper floors and eighth level, offering modular exhibition spaces, a performance theatre, and an infinity pool on the roof terrace.
The facility hosts rotating programming across art, technology, and performance within the Toranomon Hills complex (Photo: Mori Building Co)
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The facility hosts rotating exhibitions and programming that span art, technology, and performance. Its location connects to the broader Toranomon Hills complex, which includes Ark Hills and Roppongi Hills, establishing a network of cultural venues across the city’s business district.
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3. Hong Kong Palace Museum
Rocco Design’s Hong Kong Palace Museum rises from the West Kowloon Cultural District with curved aluminium panels that reference the glazed roof tiles of Beijing’s Forbidden City (Photo: Unsplash/Cheung Yin)
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Rocco Design completed the Hong Kong Palace Museum in 2022 for the West Kowloon Cultural District. The building houses more than 900 objects from Beijing’s Palace Museum, including 160 national treasures displayed in Hong Kong for the first time.
Above This Seated statue of Anubis, Late Period (664-332 BCE), is part of the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s ongoing exhibition Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums (Photo: The Supreme Council of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt)
Above The Gilded mummy mask, Roman Period (30 BCE–306 CE), composed of wood, cloth, stucco, pigment,and gold, loaned from the Hurghada Museum, is part of the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s ongoing exhibition Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums (Photo: Hong Kong Palace Museum)
This Seated statue of Anubis, Late Period (664-332 BCE), is part of the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s ongoing exhibition Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums (Photo: The Supreme Council of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt)
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The design stacks three atria vertically, each rotated to frame views of Victoria Harbour, Lantau Island, and the surrounding district. Curved aluminium panels clad the exterior, referencing the glazed roof tiles of the Forbidden City while establishing the museum as a contemporary structure. The museum includes a 400-seat theatre, workshop spaces, and a restaurant with harbour views. Its vertical stacking preserves ground-level open space for public programming while accommodating Hong Kong’s limited land area.
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4. Yokohama Museum of Art
The central atrium functions as both a circulation space and a gathering area, with granite steps that accommodate informal seating (Photo: courtesy of Yokohama Museum of Art)
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Kenzo Tange’s 1989 postmodern landmark reopened in February 2025 after a three-year renovation. Architect Kumiko Inui led the spatial redesign, which restored the building’s Grand Gallery skylight and refurbished ceiling louvres to bring natural light into the central atrium. The museum introduced furnishings in 11 colours derived from the granite Tange specified for the original construction.
![One of the artworks that is part of the museum’s Art between Japan and Korea since 1945 exhibition is [Because I’m Always Next to You] Koki Tanaka “Vulnerable History (Road Movie)” (Photo: courtesy of Yokohama Museum of Art)](https://cdn.tatlerasia.com/tatlerasia/i/2025/11/24155356-20250912-01-s_750x500.jpg)
Upper-level galleries feature floor-to-ceiling windows that connect exhibition spaces to the surrounding parkland (Photo: courtesy of Yokohama Museum of Art)
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The renovation preserved the building’s symmetrical composition while updating infrastructure and gallery spaces. The collection includes modern and contemporary works by Western and Japanese artists, with particular strength in Dadaist and Surrealist movements. The museum sits in the Minato Mirai district, a short walk from Yokohama Station.
5. Saka Museum, Bali
Above The museum’s primary facade features a sharply angled timber roof that extends beyond the glass curtain wall, providing shade and rain protection (Photo: courtesy of Saka Museum)
The museum’s primary facade features a sharply angled timber roof that extends beyond the glass curtain wall, providing shade and rain protection (Photo: courtesy of Saka Museum)
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Mitsubishi Jisho Design completed the Saka Museum in September 2023 within the Ayana Estate in Jimbaran. Napp Studio & Architects designed the interiors to focus on Balinese culture, particularly Nyepi, the Day of Silence observed during the island’s Hindu New Year. The building’s sloping roof connects mountain and sea, reflecting the Giri Segara philosophy central to Balinese spirituality. A reflecting pool surrounds the structure, mirroring moonlight and the surrounding forest.
Above The Saka Museum rises from terraced gardens in Tabanan, Bali, its angular roof referencing traditional Indonesian temple architecture (Photo: courtesy of Saka Museum)
Above Balinese ogoh-ogoh sculptures occupy the museum’s double-height entrance hall, where floor-to-ceiling glass connects interior displays to the surrounding parkland (Photo: courtesy of Saka Museum)
The Saka Museum rises from terraced gardens in Tabanan, Bali, its angular roof referencing traditional Indonesian temple architecture (Photo: courtesy of Saka Museum)
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The museum includes exhibitions on Bali’s Subak irrigation system, traditional crafts, and contemporary interpretations of Hindu cosmology. Ten commissioned ogoh-ogoh sculptures, including the island’s tallest at 36 feet, occupy the second floor. Unesco’s Prix Versailles named it among the world’s most beautiful museums in 2025.
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6. Simose Art Museum, Ōtake
Simose Art Museum’s translucent pavilions glow across a reflecting pool at dusk in Ōtake, Hiroshima. Shigeru Ban’s 2023 design distributes 8 separate gallery volumes across reclaimed waterfront land, each clad in coloured acrylic panels that filter natural light into exhibition spaces (Photo: Hiroyuki Hirai)
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Shigeru Ban designed eight floating gallery pavilions for the Simose Art Museum, which opened in March 2023 on a 4.6-hectare site facing the Seto Inland Sea. Each pavilion sits within a reflecting water basin and features colored and mirrored glass walls that shift appearance with changing light. The galleries can be moved and reconfigured for different exhibitions.
Laminated timber columns fan outward to support the restaurant pavilion’s roof structure. The timber framework, visible throughout the complex, provides both structural support and visual continuity across the gallery volumes clad separately (Photo: Hiroyuki Hirai)
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The collection focuses on glassworks by Émile Gallé and Japanese and Western paintings. A reception building constructed using Ban’s wooden L-angle method serves as the entry point. Ten villa-style accommodations surround the museum, designed by Ban and other architects. The museum received Prix Versailles recognition in 2024 as the world’s most beautiful museum.
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7. Aranya Gold Coast Art Centre, Qinhuangdao
Above Deep-set windows create shadow patterns across the facade whilst reducing solar heat gain in the exhibition spaces (Photo: Pedro Pegenaute)
Above The central performance hall features concentric terraced seating that descends towards a circular stage (Photo: Pedro Pegenaute)
Deep-set windows create shadow patterns across the facade whilst reducing solar heat gain in the exhibition spaces (Photo: Pedro Pegenaute)
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Neri & Hu completed the Aranya Art Centre in 2019 within a seaside resort community north of Beijing. The concrete structure features a central conical void that functions as either a water feature or a stepped amphitheatre. Five gallery spaces occupy the upper floors, connected by a spiralling circulation path with views to the central courtyard and the ocean beyond.
The Aranya Gold Coast Art Centre's facade features precast concrete panels arranged in a geometric grid (Photo: Pedro Pegenaute)
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Bronze elements accent the facade and mark gallery entrances. The building includes a cafe and multipurpose spaces for community programming. The design draws from seasonal changes in the nearby ocean, moving from calm summer waters to fractured winter ice. An accessible rooftop offers views of the Gold Coast and the activities below.
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8. The Museum of Art Pudong, China
Above The Museum of Art Pudong by Ateliers Jean Nouvel occupies a waterfront site in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district (Photo: Chen Hao)
Above A first-floor gallery frames views of the Oriental Pearl Tower and surrounding skyscrapers through floor-to-ceiling glazing (Photo: Chen Hao)
The Museum of Art Pudong by Ateliers Jean Nouvel occupies a waterfront site in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district (Photo: Chen Hao)
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Atelier Jean Nouvel opened the Museum of Art Pudong in July 2021 on the Huangpu River in Shanghai’s Pudong district. Among the most striking new museums in Asia, this six-story building presents 13 exhibition halls across 10,000 square meters. White granite cladding covers the exterior, lightening in tone as the building descends toward the river. Two large glass walls, up to 12 meters tall, reflect the passing water. At night, mirrored glass and LED screens on the roof and ventilation tower connect through laser beams.
The central atrium rises through multiple levels, connecting 10,000 square metres of exhibition space. White walls and minimal detailing allow the architecture to recede behind displayed artworks whilst maintaining spatial clarity across floors (Photo: Chen Hao)
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The museum opened with exhibitions from Tate, Fundació Joan Miró, and artist Cai Guo-Qiang. A restaurant on a loggia above the river provides views of the Bund. Tall trees form a windbreak that separates the museum from the surrounding towers.
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9. Taichung Green Museumbrary, Taiwan
Upper-level circulation spaces in the Taichung Green Museum by Sanaa and Ricky Liu & Associates look across Shuinan Central Park (Photo: YHLAA)
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Sanaa and Ricky Liu & Associates completed the Taichung Green Museumbrary in December 2025, creating Taiwan’s first combined art museum and public library. Eight interconnected volumes rise from Taichung Central Park, each wrapped in aluminium mesh over glass and metal walls. The buildings sit on columns, allowing pedestrian movement from all directions and creating shaded plazas beneath. A rooftop Cultural Forest offers views across the park and city.
The museum and library complex sits within Shuinan Central Park in Taichung’s Xitun District. Three distinct volumes house separate programmatic functions whilst perforated metal screens wrap the facades to control solar heat gain (Photo: YHLAA)
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The Taichung Art Museum occupies dedicated galleries connected by ramps, while the Taichung Public Library houses more than one million resources. At 58,016 square meters, the project represents Sanaa’s largest cultural work and first public building in Taiwan. The opening exhibition includes artists from 20 countries and site-specific commissions by Haegue Yang and Michael Lin.
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
