Background

Arata Isozaki was born on July 23, 1931, in Oita City, Japan. He is the son of a commerce official and poet Soji and Tetsu Isozaki.

Education

Isozaki graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1954.

Career

Arata Isozaki began his career with an apprenticeship under the guidance of 1987 Pritzker Prize Laureate Kenzo Tange. He established Arata Isozaki & Associates in 1963, after the Allied occupation when Japan had regained its sovereignty and was seeking physical rebuilding amidst political, economic and cultural uncertainty from the decimation of WWII.

His work began locally, with many buildings in his hometown and Fukuoka, and quickly expanded to Gunma, Osaka, and Tokyo. Significant works in his early career include the Ōita Prefectural Library (1962-1966 Ōita, Japan), Expo ’70 Festival Plaza (1966-1970 Osaka, Japan), The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (1971-1974 Gunma, Japan), and Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka (1972-1974 Fukuoka, Japan).

Isozaki demonstrated a worldwide vision that was ahead of his time and facilitated a dialogue between East and West. He emerged as an international leader in architecture in the 1980s, with his first overseas commission, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1981-1986 California, USA). Other prominent international works, of his more than one hundred total built projects include: Palau Sant Jordi (1983-1990 Barcelona, Spain), designed for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games; Team Disney Building (1987-1990, Florida, USA); Shenzhen Cultural Center (1998-2007 Shenzhen, China); Pala Alpitour (2002-2005 Turin, Italy), ice hockey stadium for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games; Central Academy of Fine Arts, Art Museum (2003-2008 Beijing, China); Allianz Tower (2003-2014 Milan, Italy); Qatar National Convention Center, (2004-2011 Doha, Qatar); Shanghai Symphony Hall (2008-2014 Shanghai, China); and Hunan Provincial Museum (2011-2017 Changsha, China).

In the 1960s, Isozaki envisioned City in the Air (1962 Tokyo, Japan), a futuristic plan for Shinjuku consisting of elevated layers of buildings, residences, and transportation suspended above the aging city below, in response to the rapid rate of urbanization. Although it was unrealized, Isozaki went on to plan cities in accelerating economies, with his most recent developments in China and the Middle East.

Solo exhibitions featuring the work of Isozaki have included Arata Isozaki: Architecture 1960-1990 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (California, USA) and Tokyo Station Gallery (Tokyo, Japan); Arata Isozaki: Works in Architecture at the Brooklyn Museum (New York, USA), Galleria D’ Arte Moderna, Comune di Bologna (Bologna, Italy), The Netherlands Architecture Institute (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), The National British Architecture Institute (London, United Kingdom), Miro Museum (Barcelona, Spain) and Moni Lazariston (Thessaloniki, Greece); Arata Isozaki – Electric Labyrinth at Castello di Rivoli, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (Torino, Italy) and Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Porto, Portugal); and Arata Isozaki UNBUILT at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing, China), Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre (Shanghai, China) and Guangdong Museum of Art (Guangzhou, China).

Isozaki has served as a visiting professor at several U.S. universities including Columbia University, New York (New York, USA); Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut, USA). He is based in Okinawa with offices operating in Japan, China, Italy, and Spain.

Achievements

• 

  Arata Isozaki is an important architect whose work inevitably serves as a synthesis of various styles, materials, and technological innovations. He established his own practice in the 1960s and Isozaki became the first Japanese architect to forge a deep and long-lasting relationship between East and W.
  
  Through his critical writings, and as a jury member for important architecture competitions, he has played a significant role in bringing to realization the concepts of young architects around the world. Six decades of his work include philosophy, visual art, design, music, films, and plays, alongside his iconic buildings.
  
  He is the recipient of the Annual Prize, Architectural Institute of Japan, for the Ōita Prefectural Library and The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (1967 and 1975 respectively, Japan), L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997 Officier, France), RIBA Gold Medal for architecture (1986 United Kingdom), Leone d’Oro, Venice Architectural Biennale, as commissioner of Japanese Pavilion (1996 Italy), Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil (1997 Spain), Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (2007 Italy), and The Lorenzo il Magnifico Lifetime Achievement Award, Florence Biennale (2017). He was an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Arts (1994) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998), and a member of the Japan Arts Academy (2017). He was appointed to the first Pritzker Prize Jury in 1979 and continued on as a member for five additional years.

Works

More photos

• architecture

  • Lucerne Festival Ark Nova

    (Designed by Anish Kapoor and Arata Isozaki / (2011-2013, ...)

  • The Museum of Contemporary Art

    (1981-1986 Los Angeles California, USA)

  • Domus: La Casa del Hombre

    (1993-1995 A Coruña, Spain)

  • Art Tower Mito

    (1986-1990 Ibaraki, Japan)

  • The Museum of Modern Art

    (1971-1974 Gunma, Japan)

  • Kitakyushu Central Library

    (1973-74 Fukuoka, Japan)

  • Qatar National Convention Center

    (2004-2011 Doha, Qatar)

  • Ceramic Park Mino

    (1996-2002 Gifu, Japan)

  • Nara Centennial Hall

    (1992-1998 Nara, Japan)

  • Shanghai Symphony Hall

• book

  • Island Nation Aesthetics

    (Based on his lecture given at the Royal Academy in London...)

    1996
  • The Contemporary Tea House

    (The Contemporary Tea House introduces each architect's ph...)

    2007
  • Japan-ness in Architecture

    (One of Japan's leading architects examines notions of Jap...)

    2011
  • Katsura: Imperial Villa

    (This book documents the palace in detail, combining newly...)

    2005
  • Arata Isozaki

    (Arata Isozaki's (b.1931) is one of the most important and...)

    2009
  • Gunma Museum 1996
  • Unbuilt 2001
  • Architectural Apocalypse 1988
  • International Design Yearbook 1988

Views

Isozaki's buildings appear geometrically simple but are infused with theory and purpose. Isozaki’s avant-garde approach is fluid, adjusting in response to the needs and influences of each environment through a concept of interrelated time and form called ‘ma’. Thoughtful connectivity between global universality and local identity is made apparent through his comprehensive cross-cultural and interdisciplinary solutions that reflect deep sensitivity to specific contextual, environmental and societal needs.

Quotations: "When I was old enough to begin an understanding of the world, my hometown was burned down. Across the shore, the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, so I grew up near ground zero. It was in complete ruins, and there was no architecture, no buildings and not even a city. Only barracks and shelters surrounded me. So, my first experience of architecture was the void of architecture, and I began to consider how people might rebuild their homes and cities."

"In order to find the most appropriate way to solve these problems, I could not dwell upon a single style. Change became constant. Paradoxically, this came to be my own style."

"I wanted to see the world through my own eyes, so I traveled around the globe at least ten times before I turned 30. I wanted to feel the life of people in different places and visited extensively inside japan, but also to the Islamic world, villages in the deep mountains of China, Southeast Asia, and metropolitan cities in the U.S. I was trying to find any opportunities to do so, and through this, I kept questioning, ‘what is architecture?’"

Membership

Arata Isozaki is an honorary Fellow American Institute of Architects, an honorary Fellow Academy Tiberina, Bund Deutscher Architekten (honorary), RIBA (honorary), Royal Academy Arts (honorary academician).

• 

  The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image.

  American Institute of Architects , United States

• Academy Tiberina , Italy

• 

  The Association of German Architects is an association of architects founded in 1903 in Germany.

  Bund Deutscher Architekten , Germany

• 

  The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its charter granted in 1837 and Supplemental Charter granted in 1971.

  RIBA , United Kingdom

• 

  The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. It has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects.

  Royal Academy of Arts , United Kingdom

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Choice" reviewer T. K. Kitao called Katsura Villa “the best ever” volume on its subject. The critic described Isozaki’s essay as “predictably ... postmodern."
  
  "Possessing a profound knowledge of architectural history and theory, and embracing the avant-garde, he never merely replicated the status quo, but his search for meaningful architecture was reflected in his buildings that to this day, defy stylistic categorizations, are constantly evolving, and always fresh in their approach."
  
  "Isozaki was one of the first Japanese architects to build outside of Japan during a time when western civilizations traditionally influenced the east, making his architecture - which was distinctively influenced by his global citizenry - truly international,’ adds Tom Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt foundation. "In a global world, architecture needs that communication."

Connections

Arata Isozaki is married Aiko Miyawaki in 1974. The couple has two sons.

Father:

Soji Izosaki

Mother:

Tetsu Isozaki

Spouse:

Aiko Miyawaki

colleague:

Kenzo Tange

Arata Isozaki began his career with an apprenticeship under the guidance of 1987 Pritzker Prize Laureate Kenzo Tange.

colleague:

Kisho Kurokawa

colleague:

Tadao Ando

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vol. 194
  2010
• Arata Isozaki Architecture 1960-1990 Describes forty-five projects designed by the influential Japanese architect.
  1991
• Kenzo Tange and Arata Isozaki: Two Giants of Japanese Architecture eBook: Janet Koplos: Kindle Store Japanese architecture today is dominated by two men. The seventy-two-year-old Kenzo Tange, father of modern Japanese architecture, emerged as a major presence in the fifties; his protégé, Arata Isozaki, fifty-five, burst upon the world in the seventies.
  2013
• Arata Isozaki: Four Decades of Architecture
  1998
• Arata Isozaki on dezeen.com