Teshima 8million lab

"Holding elements in coexistence and tension"

Teshima 8 Million Lab was built as a permanent exhibition space for the artist Sputniko!, completed in conjunction with the Setouchi Triennale 2016 as part of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Conceived as a place where art and science generate new mythologies, the facility also enshrines a divided spirit from Toyotamahime Shrine. Unlike the Teshima Art Museum or Teshima Yokoo House, both also located on the island, the work here may change every three years, requiring a space that is at once flexible, rooted in local culture, and resonant with the artist’s individuality.

To achieve this, we created a column-free interior by suspending the inner wooden shafts from large-section steel beams while leaving the traditional roof structure intact. Exposed deliberately, the steel beams assert a presence equal to the powerful timber roof, underscoring the “laboratory” aspect of the project.

The steel structure also allowed us to push the façade deep back from the street, placing a large rack for ema (wooden votive tablets) at the end of a through-passage. The approach is marked by torii gates that align with the mountain where Toyotamahime Shrine is dedicated, while neon signage introduces a contemporary counterpoint.

Our intention was not to reduce or simplify the multiple conditions at play, but to let them coexist and remain in balance: an ordinary village house, a laboratory symbolizing science, a gallery for artworks, and a shrine-like place of mythology. This layering of meanings resonates strongly with the polysemous nature of Sputniko!’s work.

Though the building measures only about 70 square meters, it offers a surprisingly rich array of experiences. At a preview for local residents in March, many visitors—who had come expecting to see a new art facility—ended up writing wishes on ema and sitting together in the garden chatting at length, leaving a lasting impression of how the space naturally embraced both art and community life.