Arata Isozaki

Arata Isozaki (Japanese矶 崎 新, Isozaki Arata, born July 23, 1931 in Oita, Oita Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese architect of international stature.

Life

Arata Isozaki was born in 1931 in Oita, a town in southern Japan. He was the oldest of four children. His father ran a successful transport company. 1953 Isozaki began his architectural studies at the University of Tokyo and attended the class of Kenzo Tange. He graduated in 1961 with a doctorate and remained active until 1963 in Tange's office. Then he opened his own office in Tokyo. In 1964 he held the first time a lecture at the Engineering Faculty of the University of Tokyo. Since then he has held many lectures at such prestigious universities as Harvard, Yale or UCLA. He was married three times and has two sons with his second wife. Since 1983 he is honorary member of the Association of German Architects BDA. In 1987 he was awarded for his services to architecture and contemporary culture the Asahi Prize in 1990 and the Chicago Architecture Prize.

Originally Isozaki was a major representative of the metabolism, then he changed his mind on the geometry as a first mother of Japanese design, a little later he discovered Claude- Nicolas Ledoux and Karl Friedrich Schinkel as role models. His originally kept simple geometric compositions, such as the golf club in Oita and Museum of Art in Gunma followed mannerist postmodern buildings. The connections of his third wife, the sculptor was to prominent names of modern art, such as Hans Richter, Man Ray and Frederick Kiesler influenced him as well as his earlier involvement enabled the Tokyo Neo - Dadaists. In the language of form he takes ideas, such as postmodernism or the Vienna Secession, and processes them into his own style. What is striking is its thoughtful handling of simple geometric shapes and playing with shadow and light. Isozaki's current projects must be seen as a successful synthesis of his forty-year work: Picturesque works of art from Japan, western influences.

Structures ( selection)

Works

  • Together with others: Katsura Imperial Villa, Phaidon, London 2011 ISBN 978-0-7148-6254-5.
  • Worlds and alternative worlds essays on architecture. Edited and from the Japanese by Yoco Fukuda; Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2011 ISBN 978-3-8376-1116-8.
  • Edited by Virginia Ponciroli: Katsura Imperial Villa. Electa Architecture, Milano 2005, ISBN 1-904313-37- X.
  • Katsura Villa - Space and shape, Yasuhiro Ishimoto photos. Rizzoli, New York City 1987. ISBN 0-8478-0783-5.
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