Page 26 - JCAU-5-1

Journal of Chinese

Architecture and Urbanism

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The extraordinary life and work of Arata Isozaki

(1931 – 2022): Seven decades of visionary
architecture

Steffen Lehmann*

Urban Futures Lab, The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103, USA
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Architecture and shared values between China and other civilizations)

ABSTRACT

In December 2022, the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki,
passed away at his home in Okinawa, aged 91. Known as a theorist as well as a
practitioner, Isozaki leaves behind a seven-decade career in architecture, with more
than 300 designs and 100 built structures on five continents. This article analyzes the
extraordinary life and work of the Japanese grandmaster and presents a portrait of
his innovative urban design concepts and buildings. Despite its diversity, the author
suggests that his oeuvre can be categorized into four distinctly different phases,
exemplifying how Isozaki constantly reinvented and challenged himself. Isozaki
combined Eastern and Western philosophies like no other architect before him
and had a significant influence on Chinese architecture. He also practiced in China,
where he had an office in Shanghai (since 2000) and realized a series of important
buildings, including the Shenzhen Cultural Center and Library, the Museum of the
*Corresponding author: Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and the Shanghai Symphony Hall. The author
Steffen Lehmann is a former collaborator and project partner of Isozaki during the 1990s, and draws
(Steffen.Lehmann.Cities@gmail.com)
from close knowledge, first-hand observations, and conversations to comment
Citation: Lehmann, S. (2023), the most relevant projects and adds background information. Isozaki’s work was
The extraordinary life and work of concerned with formal and intellectual expressions; it is complex and highly personal
Arata Isozaki (1931 – 2022): Seven
decades of visionary architecture. in its interdisciplinary approach and absorption of a wide range of influences. For
Journal of Chinese Architecture and Isozaki, architecture was predominantly a cultural practice. Given that Isozaki has
Urbanism, 5(1):353. recently passed away and his oeuvre is now closed, the changed circumstances ask
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.353
for a renewed focus and deeper interpretation of his remarkable, unusual legacy. He
Received: February 3, 2023 created original ideas, formal innovations, and versatile concepts for spaces that defy
Accepted: March 18, 2023 characterization as belonging to any single tendency or school of thought.
Published Online: April 19, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). Keywords: Japanese post-war architecture; Kenzo Tange; Arata Isozaki; Post-modernism;
This is an open-access article Architectural and cultural meaning; China
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-
Non-Commercial 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all
non-commercial use, distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is With over 100 built works and over 300 unbuilt designs, and a very productive career
properly cited. spanning seven decades, Arata Isozaki (born in 1931 in Oita; died in 2022 in Okinawa,
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Japan) created an unusually heterogeneous oeuvre that is diverse and original. Hence,
Publishing remains neutral with writing about the Japanese architect is not an easy task. Isozaki was never tied to a
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional specific style. However, with his recent passing, Isozaki’s work is now due for a new look
affiliations. and deeper evaluation, shedding light on his enduring legacy.

Volume 5 Issue 1 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.353