The National Museum of Western Art

The National Museum of Western Art is defined by a low, flat concrete roof and a layout that spirals outward from a central square hall. Architect Le Corbusier designed this main building in nineteen fifty-nine to house a collection of French Impressionist paintings and sculptures. He intended the gallery to grow indefinitely, like a snail shell, by adding outer squares. Kojiro Matsukata spent decades gathering these works in Europe, only to lose them to the French government as spoils of war until their nineteen fifty-nine return.