KenzÅ Tange
Kenzo Tange (Japanese丹 下 健 三, Tange Kenzo, born September 4, 1913 in Sakai, † 22 March 2005 in Tokyo) was a well known beyond the borders of Japan also architect. He was the main representative of "new building " in his country. He also made a significant contribution to the development of structuralism. These Kenzo Tange said: "I think it was around 1959 or at the beginning of the 1960s that I dealt with a flow which I later called structuralism ", ( in Plan 2/1982, Amsterdam). In 1987, the Pritzker Prize, he was awarded. He was awarded the Praemium Imperiale, Division for Architecture, 1993.
Life
He spent his childhood in Imabari on the island of Shikoku.
After finishing school Kenzo attended the University of Tokyo and studied architecture. In 1936 he completed his studies. Following this he worked until 1941 for Kunio Maekawa.
Then Kenzo studied urban planning at the University of Tokyo. Already in 1946 he became assistant. Among his pupils were, among others, Fumihiko Maki, Koji Kamiya, Arata Isozaki, Kisho Kurokawa and TANEO Oki. 1959 became Kenzo graduated with the title of graduate engineer. Two years later he opened the architectural firm Kenzo Tange Urtec. Later he changed the name to Kenzo Tange Associate.
In the years 1963-1974 Kenzo taught as a professor at the University of Tokyo. He was a sought-after teacher, who lectured at numerous international universities such as at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Washington University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Alabama and the University of Toronto.
Early on, the Japanese architect tried to combine avant-garde trends with traditional architecture of his country, to blend Eastern and Western architectural culture with each other. In the late 1960s, Kenzo turned to the International Style.
Over time the Japanese developed his designs on, and he found a clear structural order. In his architectural work, he was influenced by the French architect, painter and designer Le Corbusier. Also inspired him the Metabolists with its emphasis on functionality, yet he did not join them.
With its architecture, Kenzo had to determine the contemporary architectural styles. Among his numerous awards include the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects ( RIBA ), the American Institute of Architects (AIA ) and the French Academy. In 1987 he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest award bestowed this industry.
But long before his worldwide reputation was well founded, for example, with the main building of the Hiroshima Peace Museum, which was created in the period 1949-1956. The building became a symbol of peace. It stands as an early example in which Kenzo combined the novel simplicity of Le Corbusier with the traditional architecture of Japan.
Tange's " Plan for Tokyo 1960" attracted worldwide attention. In it, he propagated his extraordinary concept for the extension of the metropolis Tokyo by mega-structures and other solutions. 1964 originated in Tokyo 's Olympic halls, just as responsible for their design Kenzo drew. According to his plans, the Great Exhibition of 1970 in Osaka was designed. Especially the two last projects strengthened the world-renowned Japanese architect.
Urban planning commitment showed Kenzo in 1967 in Bologna, Italy, and in the planning of the new district Librino with 60,000 inhabitants in Catania, Italy. The Olivetti commissioned the Japanese master architect to design the company 's headquarters in Japan.
Kenzo's only realized project in the U.S. is the extension of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The measure on the neoclassical old stock from 1911 was completed in 1975. He has been enriched with two large symmetrical wings.
His other projects include the Sogestsu Art Center in Tokyo (Japan, 1957), the town hall in Kurashiki Kurashiki (Japan, 1960), the Ichinomiya Rowhouse in Ichinomiya (Japan, 1961), the Cultural Center in Nichinan Nichinan (Japan, 1963) or the St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo (Japan, 1963).
Many projects of Kenzo speak to the heart of man what was the intention of the designer. Nevertheless, he designed the form, space and appearance according to logical criteria. He understood his creative work as a union of technology and humanity. Tradition in architecture fulfilled for him the function of a catalyst, but no longer in the result is perceptible. Tradition was for Kenzo no longer an independent creative element, but merely took part in the creative process.
According to these guidelines, he realized, for example, buildings in Singapore such as the building of the Overseas Union Bank, the GB- building, telecommunications center or the building of the Nanynag Institute of Technology or in Tokyo, the Akasaka Prince Hotel, the Hanae Mori Building, the Präfekturmusuem Hyōgo for history, the Yokohama Museum of Art or the headquarters of the United Nations University.
On 22 March 2005 Kenzo died in Tokyo at the age of 91 years due to heart failure.