Background
Ito was born in Seoul, Korea to Japanese parents on 1 June 1941. In 1943, he moved to Japan with his mother and two sisters
Ito was born in Seoul, Korea to Japanese parents on 1 June 1941. In 1943, he moved to Japan with his mother and two sisters
Toyo Ito graduated from the University of Tokyo's department of architecture in 1965.
Toyo Ito began his career working for Kiyonori Kikutake Architect and Associates from 1965 to 1969. In 1971 he started his own studio in Tokyo, named Urbot ("Urban Robot"). In 1979, the studio name was changed to Toyo Ito & Associates.
Throughout his early career Ito constructed numerous private house projects that expressed aspects of urban life in Japan.
Ito's Tower of Winds (1986) and Egg of Winds (1991) are interactive landmarks in public spaces, resulting from a creative interpretation of contemporary technical possibilities.
Toyo Ito's office is known as a training ground for talented younger architects.
Ito's work is often said to have affinities with the ideas of philosophers such as Munesuke Mita and Gilles Deleuze.
Ito has defined architecture as "clothing" for urban dwellers, particularly in the contemporary Japanese metropolis. This theme revolves around the equilibrium between the private life and the metropolitan, "public" life of an individual.
The current architecture of Toyo Ito expands on his work produced during the postmodern period, aggressively exploring the potentials of new forms. In doing so, he seeks to find new spatial conditions that manifest the philosophy of borderless beings.