Isozaki Arata

born July 23, 1931, Ōita, Kyushu, Japan

Japanese avant-garde architect.

He studied at the University of Tokyo and opened his own studio in 1963. His first notable building is the Ōita Prefectural Library (1966), which shows the influence of the Metabolist school. In his later works, which often synthesize Eastern and Western elements, he used bold geometric forms and frequently made historical allusions. Among his innovative structures are the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (1986) and Art Tower (1990) in Mito, Japan.

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▪ Japanese architect

born July 23, 1931, Ōita, Kyushu, Japan

      one of the best-known of a group of avant-garde Japanese architects of the late 20th century.

      Isozaki was born to an upper-class family, and he studied architecture at the University of Tokyo. Upon graduation, he became an apprentice for nine years to Tange Kenzō, a leading Japanese architect of the postwar period. During that period Isozaki also worked with a design team known as Urtec (Urbanists and Architects). He was somewhat influenced by the Metabolist movement, a brutalist group that combined a concern for modern technology and utilitarianism. In 1963 Isozaki formed his own design studio. He was a visiting professor at a number of universities throughout the United States.

      The first building for which he is noted is the Ōita Prefectural Library (1966), a Metabolist-influenced structure. After working as chief architect for Japan's “Expo '70,” Isozaki moved away from his more orthodox modernist structures and began to examine a variety of non-Oriental solutions to architectural problems. Among his innovative structures of this period are the Kita-Kyūshū City Museum of Art (1974), the Fujimi Country Clubhouse in Ōita (1974), the Okanoyama Graphic Art Museum (1982–84), and the Civic Centre for Tsukuba (1983). He also designed the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (1986). He wrote many books on architecture.

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