Toyo Ito

by Buntrock, Dana; Ito, Toyo; Yamamoto, Riken; Igarashi, Taro

• ISBN13: 9780714868608
• ISBN10: 0714868604
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-10-15
• Publisher: Phaidon Press

Summary

Toyo Ito (b. 1941) is one of the most important Japanese architects working today, and has grown to be one of the most influential in the world. He is famous for ambitious and stunning projects such as the Sendai Mediatheque, TOD’S Omotesando, Tama Art University Library, and Island City Central Park, all of which demonstrate his ability to use materials in surprising and innovative ways, with revolutionary high-tech organic geometries. 

In this unique volume Toyo Ito presents a personal selection of 31 of his projects divided into 14 thematic sections, all with introductions in which Ito looks at some of the influences on and trends in his thought. The eminent architect Riken Yamamoto provides an introduction, while the internationally respected architecture critics Dana Buntrock and Taro Igarashi contribute exploratory essays.

Author Biography

Born in Japan in 1941, Toyo Ito graduated from Tokyo University’s Department of Architecture in 1965. After working for Kiyonori Kikutake Architects from 1965 to 1969, he started his own studio, Urban Robot (urbot) in 1971, in Tokyo. In 1979, the studio changed its name to Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. From his early White U in 1976 and Silver Hut in 1984 (both residential projects), to the much larger Sendai Mediatheque (2000) and Island City Central Park GrinGrin (2005), Ito has shown himself to be one of the most radically creative and influential architects of his generation. Ito has won many awards, including the Brunner Memorial Prize in 2000 and the RIBA Gold Medal in 2006.

Dana Buntrock is a Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She has written widely on all aspects of Japanese architecture, but specializes in the period after 1900.

Taro Igarashi is a Professor of Architecture at Tohoku University, Sendai. His broad range of interests crosses design, philosophy, and the arts.

Riken Yamamoto (b. 1945) is one of the most eminent architects working in Japan today. Among his many innovative projects are Jian Wai SOHO, Beijing (2003), Yokosuka Museum of Art (2007), and Odawara Public Hall (in progress).