Our Design
Brand Concept
Connecting Cultures
People's values and ways of life never truly disappear. While they may change, their essence remains the same, constantly evolving and being passed down, adapting to the times and cultures in which we live. These forms of change and inheritance can be seen in the crafts that have been collected, the traditions that have been passed down, and the memories that have been celebrated and shared with people over centuries.
At MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, we do not view our cultural timeline as a linear period such as "the time a person lived" or "a specific era." We believe that time is more relative, non-linear, and extends in multiple directions.
Here, "time" is like a spiral, connecting everything—past events and future events. We are all part of a constantly moving Narratives, woven together through time.
Our identity, too, loops forward, backward, and outward, reflecting and constructing the flow of culture, and creating a dialogue with Narratives of the future. This is how culture carries us.
Museum name
The acronym "MoN" in "The Museum of Narratives" has two meanings: "question" and "gate". "Questions" are questions that are posed to society through themes and Program, and at the same time, they are also an opportunity for you to face your own inner questions. While the "gate" has an affinity with the place name Takanawa Gateway, it is also a gateway that connects diverse fields such as tradition and technology, art and science, city and nature, performance and exhibitions. And it is also a door for visitors to meet the unknown world and a new self. MoN is a place where you can receive "questions = dreams" from various "Narratives = narratives" to meet new selves, and open your own "gates".
Brand Design
Culture never stands still; it spirals, shifts, and returns. It weaves and carries Narratives across time and space. MoN's brand identity reflects this idea, connecting the past and future through a multidimensional flow where diverse people, ideas, and experiences intersect.
This logo visualizes this idea. The spiral shape of the logo, which evokes the exterior design and can be read as "M," "O," and "N," represents a constantly evolving, living, and ever-changing Narratives loop. It is also composed of the red of the "sun," the green of the "earth," and the blue of the "sea," inspired by the rich natural environment of Takanawa.
This logo is both a global common language and a locally rooted design, serving as a Narratives gateway to our museum's vision: "To be a place that not only preserves culture but also renews it and is constantly reborn as a new place."
Branding Partner: Pentagram Limited
Exterior design
Designed as a cultural symbol of Takanawa Gateway City, this building is the city's only low-rise structure, with six floors above ground and three floors underground. The spiral exterior design, which makes extensive use of wood and seems to rise from the earth to the sky, connects the earth and the sky, the past and the future, through rotational movement. Most of the plants that adorn the building are native Japanese species, and a distinctive feature is that you can feel the changing seasons of Japan through the flowers that color the four seasons.
Exterior design architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates