Tadao Ando's ingenious design for the Akka art gallery all goes to prove that Japanese architects are most apt at making virtue of necessity. The cramped site measuring 8 m wide and 40m deep asked for an unconventional solution. The five-storey space is penetrated by a curved wall with a 28 m radius and stairs running on either side. Although the compositional framework is simple and austere, the maze of the paths of circulation, stairs, landings, ramps, balconies and galleries is a highly complex spatial experience.