Page 37 - JCAU-5-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism The life and work of Arata Isozaki

The conceptually powerful and often provocative and its dedication to refinement: just think of the ritual of
designs of this phase looked suddenly more Japanese the traditional Japanese tea ceremony or the delicacy of the
when compared to the previous, internationalized phase. Japanese gardens (GA Architect, 2000). Designs during
For instance, the buildings in Mito and Krakow revealed this phase included fiercely elegant buildings such as Kyoto
a typical Japanese aesthetic. Now globally admired, Concert Hall, the Nara Centennial Hall, and the Atea Twin
Isozaki developed also a more hyper-modernistic style, Towers in Bilbao (Figures 2 and 3). For many, it came as a
with buildings such as the Nara Centennial Hall and the surprise when around 1998, Isozaki started to incorporate
Domus science museum, La Casa del Hombre, in Galicia, organic curved structural elements and surfaces in his
Spain. Both projects are monoliths with smoothly curved designs; the use of curvilinear surfaces started to appear
fortress-like walls clad in slate and ceramic tiles, departing more frequently, enabled by new parametric capabilities
from the language of his other buildings. (these became even more dominant in his later projects

Much of his work in Spain was generated by the in China, Qatar, and for the Florence railway station
highly successful Olympic stadium Palau Sant Jordi on proposal) (Carpo, 2017).
Barcelona’s Montjuïc, in which he designed for the 1992 Isozaki would claim that the phase of contextual local
Summer Olympics. It was also a response to the beginning architecture and critical regionalism had ended with a
of Japan’s economic recession, which forced architects to complete globalization of the architecture discipline.
search for work beyond Japan. The bursting of the Japanese Typical works from this phase include:
economic bubble made it necessary to look worldwide for
new projects, and Isozaki was very successful in doing • Art Tower Mito Cultural Complex (1986 – 1990),
so. He once told me “If you lose commissions, you lose Ibaraki, Japan
power – and that’s hard to take.” Arata Isozaki remained • Centre of Japanese Art and Technology (1990 – 1994),
powerful – by winning numerous new commissions and Kraków, Poland
st
constantly renewing himself both internally and externally. • Donau City Twin Towers (1991 – 1992, 1 Prize,
unbuilt), Vienna, Austria
With the Fall of the Wall (1989), Isozaki became a • Kyoto Concert Hall (1991 – 1995), Kyoto, Japan
frequent visitor to the city of Berlin. He loved the 1920s • Nara Centennial Hall Convention Center (1992 – 1998),
utopian designs of creating a better world, and the old Nara, Japan
cities in Italy and Spain, which he frequently visited. In the • Mino Ceramic Park and Museum (1996 – 2002), Gifu,
1990s, there was a renewed focus on European cities as the Japan
main area of cultural interest, which led to the “rebirth” • Domus—La Casa Del Hombre Science Museum (1991
of European urbanism. Many of the buildings designed – 1995), A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
and built during this phase are a string of elegant public • Buildings C2/C3 at Potsdamer Platz (1993 – 1999),
works with a cultural function, ranging from large concert Berlin, Germany (Arata Isozaki and Steffen Lehmann)
halls, museums, art galleries, universities, and libraries, • Nagi Museum of Contemporary Art (1991 – 1994),
to cultural centers and convention halls. Every project Nagi, Okayama, Japan
came now with a broader civic agenda, dealing with public • Toyonokuni Library for Cultural Resources (1991 –
space. New commissions were mostly won through design 1995), Toyonokuni, Japan
competitions. Museums became one of his important • Shizuoka Convention and Arts Center GRANSHIP
fields of activity, but also concert halls and public libraries. (1998), Shizuoka, Japan
Isozaki, therefore, developed vast expertise in museum • The Bass Museum of Art, Miami (2000 – 2001),
technology, lighting, and acoustics for concert halls. Florida, USA
During this period, he developed the concept of the • COSI Columbus Science Museum (1994 – 1999),
Third Generation Art Museum (1991), which he described Ohio, USA
as a “site-specific and art-specific museum” (Lehmann & • The new entrance of the Caixa Forum Barcelona
Feireiss, 1994). Brancusi’s Infinite Column and the idea Building (1999 – 2002), Barcelona, Spain
of an infinitely extendable tower influenced the design st
of Art Tower Mito; it created a powerful civic symbol for 5.4. Phase IV (2001 – 2020): The 21 century: Digital
an otherwise non-descript new town (Figure 1). Despite architecture as a form of global endeavor
the large-scale works, he always maintained an interest in Even in later years, he remained tirelessly internationally
small projects, such as the Nagi Museum (1994), furniture active. The anxiety around the new millennium, with huge
design, and temporary exhibitions. This was in line with the expectations, which had quickly cooled off and led to
enormous respect that Japanese culture has for small things cultural disappointment, shifting the focus away from the

Volume 5 Issue 1 (2023) 12 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.353