Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre

Another initially understated building which I stumbled upon whilst looking for the Art Museum. The almost Brutalist exterior reveals a wonderland interior lit by transparent glass bricks set in the bare concrete walls. Apparently the same effect is revealed on the outside when it is lit up at night. One of the coolest escalators ever, curving in a huge arc from the main entrance to the gallery above. Designed by Toyo Ito and completed in 2002. He used the same visual effect of the glass bricks on the Mikimoto Building in Ginza (Tokyo) three years later, but his range of styles clearly demonstrates he is no "one trick pony", unlike some architects who, for example (no names mentioned) seem obsessed with titanium cladding or red brick tiles respectively!