This four-story modern rectangle mass ("Kindai Bijutsukan") was designed by the noted Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki in 1986. The design is appropriate for an institution that houses 20th Century paintings and ceramics, with an emphasis on Japanese artists from the Kyoto and Kansai areas. The exterior pattern of squares created by stone veneer, aluminum and glass panels is supposed to refer to the original city grid of Kyoto's city layout. The building does have corner stairwells with glass walls, which are lit up in the evening to brighten things up. The skylight on top allows for soft daylight into the atrium, with its large ceremonial stair. A few windows are grouped near the first floor outdoor patio area.
Permanent exhibits are displayed on the fourth floor. The museum also features popular traveling temporary exhibits. There is a cafeteria and shop on the first floor, as usual.
The museum is located within Okazaki Park, near institutions like the Heian Jingu Shrine and the Kyoto Municipal Art Museum. The big orange-red torii gate of the Heian Shrine seems to visually clash with the brooding gray of the museum. Just south of the museum is a line of small trees drooping over the Biwakososui Canal.
The museum is closed on Mondays, and features extended Friday hours into the evening during the spring and summer months.