| A distinction between figures is made through the building's central atrium. The interstitial space is open air, subtlety increasing the gap between the two figures by having the figure ground read as the boundaries between what is inside and outside. While the restrained outer elevations are almost completely void of glazing, the central atrium features a generous amount of punctures, encouraging a dialogue between the figures as the viewer follows its curvature upward into the galleries. In serving the community, this museum must not isolate and subdivide but instead allow for the guest to turn inwards and admire the flow of local life. The central atrium continues from the basement up until the rooftop so as to make this feature able to appreciated throughout all aspects of the building.
Program has been laid out to accommodate the promenade that the figures set. The basement holds the "education/event center" where bustling gatherings and classes take place below tranquil framing of the arts above. Although these gatherings take place in the deep underground belly of the building, they are not isolated as the basement is always exposed to the galleries above through multistory shafts that span the building's height. The street level and plaza levels of the building are dedicated mostly to circulation, reflecting the crucial role that this building has in accommodating the heavy pedestrian flow of Little Tokyo. In the floors above the entry levels are the galleries, where guests constantly oscillate between the two figures as they explore higher within the museum. Eventually the promenade terminates on the rooftop sculpture gallery where tired guests can energize at a nearby café. It is here where the puncture of the central atrium allows for the monumentality of the both figures to be fully appreciated as one can follow the datums of the composed figures from the roof all the way to the basement level.
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