The place where the ruins Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army used to station is particular not just for its role as a historical site. Its particularity is already defined by the broken walls, silent and solemn gravel ground, rails extending to infinity, and the desolate lofty elms surrounding it, before the architect has time to assess the harmony of such combination. To relieve the repression caused by new building volume upon the site, main display spaces are sunk into the ground. A cracked Black Box tilts on the collapsed site, making its charcoal grey roof an extension of the square ground. The “tilt” shows not only the scale but also the attitude of design. Viewing from the square in front of the office building into the east, the exhibition hall seems like a slight fluctuation in the terrain, more of a natural earth-scape than an artificial geometry. The crack creates subtle variations in form, color and material of the Black Box, which in turn help merge the building into the environment.
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