sayamaike
I pass a few industrial concrete buildings on my train ride to work but one sits out on its own, on top of a hill. Sayama pond lies about 30 minutes from Namba station on the Koya line and has been irrigating the land around for 1400 years: it's a very significant place. the museum, a tadao ando creation, is pretty bleak (or magnificent, depending on your stance) in true ando style, but it does have a real section of the levee where you can see all the different stages of growth over the centuries. it seems amazing that the early method of using branches and leaves between layers to prevent landslides is actually pretty close to the modern version of using cloth. the place still felt like a morgue but perhaps that was intentional.
it has to be said though, that I see enough concrete everyday without wishing to see it inside a museum when I'm trying to relax. pesky minimalists.