21ST-CENTURY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Kanazawa, Japan

If there was one word to sum up the story of this gallery on Japan’s north coast, it would be democracy. Chosen by a citizen’s forum, architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa consulted with the museum’s artistic director Yuko Hasegawa to devise a layout that would be democratic by design. Circular and single-storey, it has four identical entry points and 18 gallery spaces approached from multiple directions. ‘Each visitor creates his or her own, different and specific itinerary,’ said Nishizawa. It went on to win the Golden Lion at the 2004 Venice Biennale – before it had even opened. kanazawa21.jp