The Toyo Ito Architecture Museum has opened in Japan, designed by Toyo Ito himself.

The first museum in Japan devoted to a single architect, it stands in Imabari on the island of Omishima overlooking the inland Seto Sea.

The museum consists of two buildings: the trapezoidal Steel Hut and the vaulted Silver Hut.

The scheme was close to completion when the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March. Inspired by these events, the inaugural exhibition addresses society’s previous unquestioning trust in engineering and architecture.

A spokesman said: “Confronted by the reality of entire towns and villages wiped off the map by the tsunami or abandoned in the wake of the nuclear plant crisis in Fukushima, we have been forced to re-examine the blind faith in technology upon which we built our communities, our economy and our society.

“The same applies to our approach to architecture and city planning: in the wake of these disasters, we must reset our views on how to build cities and buildings back to zero, and start over again.”