Arata Isozaki

Arata Isozaki , 1931-, Japanese architect, b. Oita. One of his nation's most important contemporary architects, he has an international reputation and has designed notable buildings in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He worked for Kenzo Tange (1954-63) before opening his own firm in 1963. Isozaki's works combine a traditional Japanese sensibility with Western postmodernism , wittily employing complex asymmetrical forms, innovatively juxtaposed materials, eclectic formal borrowings from past styles, and technologically sophisticated details. Among his many buildings are the Oita Prefectural Library, Oita, Japan (1966); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1986); the New Tokyo City Hall (1986); Team Disney, Orlando, Fla. (1990); the Kyoto Concert Hall (1995); and the Center of Science and Industry, Columbus, Ohio (1999).

Bibliography: See P. Drew, The Architecture of Arata Isozaki (1982); D. B. Stewart and H. Yatsuka, Arata Isozaki: Architecture 1960-1990 (1991).

Isozaki, Arata (1931– ). Japanese architect. His work has drawn on a wide range of sources, as he has held that anything in the history of architecture is fair game for quotation and/or interpretation. His syntheses of Western and Japanese themes, concentrating on clarity of geometry and stereometrically pure forms, have been impressive. He was loosely associated with Metabolism before he established his reputation with the Fukuoka Mutual Bank, Oita (1965–7). Other works followed, including Gunma Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Takasaki (1971–4), Kitakyushu City Museum of Art (1972–4), and the West Japan General Exhibition Centre, Kitakyushu (1975–7). In the Kitakyushu Central Library (1972–5) and the Fujimi Country Club House, Oita (1973–4—planned as a question mark), he began to experiment with vaulted structures. Fragmentary quotations from historic buildings (notably from Ledoux) began to be used in his work, e.g. the Tsukuba Civic Centre (1978–83), and his architecture became more sculptural, as with the headquarters of the Disney Corporation, Buena Vista, Orlando, FL (1989–92). Other buildings include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, CA (1981–7), the Museum Nagi MoCA, Nagicho, Okayama, Japan (1992–4), the Concert Hall, Kyoto, Japan (1992–5), and Domus: La Casa del Hombre, La Coruña, Spain (1993–5).

Bibliography

Barratucci & and Russo (1983);
Drew (1982);
Kalman (1994);
Futagawa (ed.) (1991–2, 2000a);
Isozaki (1991, 1995);
Jodidio (1997a);
Koshalek & and D. Stewart (1998);
Yatsuka & and D. Stewart (1991).