ARATA ISOZAKI

Architect

Born in Oita City in 1931. Graduated from the Architecture Faculty of the University of Tokyo in 1954. Established Arata Isozaki & Associates in 1963. As a leading international figure in architecture, Isozaki designed numerous buildings including the Museum of Modern Art, Gunma; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; and the Barcelona Summer Olympic Games Stadium. In more recent years, he worked on projects such as the Qatar National Convention Center, Allianz Tower in Milan, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Hunan Provincial Museum, the University of Central Asia, and the urban design for Zhengzhou City in Henan Province in China. He curated architectural and art exhibitions around the world, served as a judge for competitions, and chaired symposia. His major curatorial projects include the exhibition “MA: Space-Time in Japan” (1978-81) and his work as commissioner of the Japan Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia International Exhibition of Architecture (6^th to 8th editions). His “Fractures” exhibition for the 1996 Biennale’s Japan Pavilion was awarded the Golden Lion for the best national pavilion. He also organized the international conference on architectural thought, “ANY Symposium,” for ten years (1991–2000). His publications include Japan-ness in Architecture (Shinchosha, MIT Press) and an 8-volume collection of his architectural essays from over 50 years (Iwanami Shoten – Japanese). He was active in a wide range of fields, including architecture, philosophy, art, design, cultural theory, and criticism. He received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. Isozaki passed away in 2022.

https://isozaki.co.jp/