Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM) by Kengo Kuma and Associates will open in June 2019 in the Anatolia region’s capital of culture. Founded by Erol Tabanca, an art collector and businessman, OMM will welcome international audiences to discover its significant collection of modern and contemporary art spanning the 1950s to the present day. 
     With its distinctive stacked timber design by Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), the 4,500 sq m building draws inspiration from Odunpazari’s traditional Ottoman wooden cantilevered houses that are synonymous with the district and pays homage to the town’s history as a thriving wood market. Along with several other city museums in the surrounding area, OMM will create a museum square and public meeting place in the town.
     Split over three floors, visitors will journey through a variety of exhibition spaces, with the large spaces at ground level echoing the rhythm and scale of the surrounding townscape, and the smaller rooms on the upper levels providing a home for smaller-scale artworks. At the centre, a skylit atrium will allow natural light to permeate throughout the building.
     Kengo Kuma, Founder, and Yuki Ikeguchi, Partner leading the project, of Kengo Kuma and Associates, said, “At the heart of this project was a desire to create a link between people and art. We wanted the building to carry the history and memory of the town, to resonate both on a human scale and with the unique streetscape of Odunpazari, which passing through is a special experience in itself. We very much look forward to seeing the public enjoy and interact with the building.”