ARCHITECTURE: Arata Isozaki

Arata Isozaki, (23/7/1931-29/12/2022 ) is Japanese architect who, during a six-decade career, designed more than 100 buildings, each defying a particular category or style. For his work, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. The prolific architect has been credited with facilitating dialogue between East and West, reinterpreting global influences within architecture, and supporting the development of younger generations in the field. His precision and dexterity are demonstrated through his mastery of an intercontinental range of building techniques, interpretation of site and context, and intentionality of details.

By Efi Michalarou

Arata Isozaki was born in Ōita, Island of Kyushu, Japan in 1931 prior to the onset of World War II. He was 14 years old when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, and builds with the theory that while buildings are transitory, they should please the senses of the users presently passing through and around them. “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”. Isozaki graduated from the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1954, and began his career with an apprenticeship under the guidance of 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. “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”. 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. 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. 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. 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. Significant works in his early career include the Ōita Prefectural Library (1962-66 Ōita, Japan), Expo ’70 Festival Plaza (1966-70 Osaka, Japan), The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (1971-74 Gunma, Japan), and Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka (1972-74 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 (1981-86 California, USA). Other prominent international works, of his more than one hundred total built projects include: Palau Sant Jordi (1983-90 Barcelona, Spain), designed for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games; Team Disney Building (1987-90, Florida, USA); Shenzhen Cultural Center (1998-07 Shenzhen, China); Pala Alpitour (2002-05 Turin, Italy), ice hockey stadium for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games; Central Academy of Fine Arts, Art Museum (2003-08 Beijing, China); Allianz Tower (2003-14 Milan, Italy); Qatar National Convention Center, (2004-11 Doha, Qatar); Shanghai Symphony Hall (2008-14 Shanghai, China); and Hunan Provincial Museum (2011-17 Changsha, China).