21_21 Design Sight is a design museum and exhibition venue in the Tokyo Midtown complex in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, near Roppongi. Founded by fashion designer Issey Miyake, it opened on 30 March 2007 in a building designed by architect Tadao Ando. Its exhibitions and public programs examine design through everyday objects, materials and activities.
The institution presents temporary exhibitions rather than maintaining a permanent display. Its activities include workshops and discussions intended to explore the relationship between design and daily life.
History
Interior in 2015
Miyake had advocated establishing a design museum in Japan since the 1980s, discussing the proposal with figures including Isamu Noguchi, Ikko Tanaka, Shiro Kuramata and Ando. On 28 January 2003, The Asahi Shimbun published his article "Time to Create a Design Museum". The proposal subsequently received support from Mitsui Fudosan and other collaborators, leading to the establishment of 21_21 Design Sight within the Tokyo Midtown development.
The opening program, which began on 30 March 2007, introduced the building through architectural models, photographs and drawings documenting its construction. An installation by choreographer William Forsythe, Additive Inverse, followed in April. The first thematic exhibition opened later that month.
In 2014, the institution received the Special Prize of the Mainichi Design Award. A third exhibition space, Gallery 3, opened in March 2017 to mark its tenth anniversary, and Satoh was appointed overall director.
Miyake, graphic designer Taku Satoh and industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa were the founding directors, with design journalist Noriko Kawakami serving as associate director. Following Miyake's death in 2022, Satoh and Fukasawa continued as directors, alongside Kawakami as associate director. The directors participate in selecting exhibition themes and planning the institution's activities.
Name
The name refers to 20/20 vision, a measure commonly associated with normal visual acuity. The designation "21_21" expresses the intention to look beyond conventional ways of seeing and to consider future possibilities for design. It is pronounced "two-one two-one design sight". The word "sight" also refers to the institution's emphasis on observation and perspective.
Architecture
A basement gallery in 2015
The building stands within the landscaped grounds of Tokyo Midtown. Designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates in collaboration with Nikken Sekkei, it consists of a ground floor and a basement. Approximately 80 percent of its floor space is underground, reducing its visual impact on the surrounding park.
Its angular steel roof was inspired by Miyake's clothing-design concept of "A Piece of Cloth". Ando translated this into the architectural idea of a folded sheet of steel. Fabricating the roof required processing a steel plate approximately 54 metres (177ft) long. The building combines concrete construction with extensive glazing.
The design was intended to provide both exhibition space and a setting for examining how design affects everyday life. Ando described the project as a place for research and for encouraging visitors to reconsider familiar objects and their surroundings.
The institution lists a total floor area of 1,932 square metres (20,800sqft), including 686 square metres (7,380sqft) of exhibition space. Galleries 1 and 2 occupy the basement alongside a sunken courtyard that admits natural light. Gallery 3 and the shop occupy the ground floor.
Exhibitions and programs
Exhibitions frequently begin with familiar materials or experiences and examine their wider cultural, technological and social implications. Designers serve as exhibition directors, working with other specialists and contributors. Talks and workshops accompany the exhibition program.
Early exhibitions
Chocolate, directed by Fukasawa, ran from 27 April to 29 July 2007. The exhibition used chocolate as a starting point for exploring design and the social associations of a familiar food. Participating creators developed works through workshops, considering both the material itself and its place in everyday life.
Water, held from 5 October 2007 to 14 January 2008, was directed by Satoh, with cultural anthropologist Shinichi Takemura as concept supervisor. It examined relationships between people and water through photography, interactive displays and information about consumption and resources. Topics included rainwater use and the water required to produce food, illustrating how design could make otherwise less visible processes understandable.
Later exhibitions
The Original, held from 3 March to 25 June 2023, examined designs that had influenced everyday life and subsequent generations of designers. Directed by design journalist Takahiro Tsuchida, with Fukasawa as supervisor and Kaoru Tashiro as planning associate, it presented approximately 150 products. These included furniture, tableware, textiles and toys, accompanied by explanatory texts and images discussing their development and relationships.
