The project was conceived as a contemporary, volumetric version of a stroll garden. The open-air Fine Arts Museum - designed by Tadao Ando - is situated below ground level to keep the view from the adjacent Botanical Gardens towards the Higashiyama mountains intact.

The museum displays reproductions of famous masterpieces on ceramic plates with permanent, weatherproof properties. The scheme is open. It consists of large concrete beams on massive pillars, overlapping bridges and ramps, walls of cascading water and pools with paintings floating on the water surface. Circulation is intersected by massive concrete walls, allowing views from different angles, and adding depth and variety to the exhibition spaces. The greenish glass railing interact with the water surface reflecting the different materials.