Page 40 - JCAU-5-1

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

Only later on, he was the recipient of the prestigious situation, according to the environment; an architectural
award. For a long time, he was overlooked for the Pritzker style is a solution. Every time it’s different.”
Prize – which was the only time I have seen him be bitter Reflecting on a seven-decade-long career blending
about the fact that he was a member of award juries architecture with urbanism, visual art, poetry, philosophy,
numerous times – including for the Pritzker (in the late theater, writing, and design, I would argue that each of his
1970s, Isozaki was part of the small group of architects designs was a specific solution born out of the project’s
who helped hotel magnate Jay Pritzker plan what became context, the realities of the site, and the building’s program.
the Pritzker Prize; and between 1979 and 1984, he was a Perhaps his use of a variety of historical references in an
regular member of the Prize’s juries), promoting avant- unrestrained way (during his postmodern phase) is that
garde architects and helping younger architects to kick- aspect of his work that was most misunderstood and
start their career and make their ideas a reality – from complex, in hindsight sometimes triggering skepticism
Holl, to Hadid, to Sejima and Aoki, and numerous others. in a younger generation. Otherwise, the heterogeneous
It has frequently been Isozaki who created the space and and constantly transforming oeuvre of Isozaki with its
freedom for younger Japanese and Western architects to diversity and complexity requires some serious effort to
exhibit their designs and receive commissions. Therefore, it fully understand its open-ended questions – not aiming to
was long overdue when he was finally awarded the Pritzker deliver simplistic, singular answers.
Prize in Architecture in 2019, as the seventh Japanese After spending a couple of years in the Tokyo office and
architect to receive this award. This greatest honor came becoming Isozaki’s trusted aide, I was fortunate to enter
late, but still during his lifetime: when Isozaki received the
Pritzker Prize, a younger generation of Japanese architects into a project partnership with him in 1993 for two large
like Tadao Ando, SANAA, Toyo Ito or Shigeru Ban had buildings at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, the result of our
competition success. In 1995, when Isozaki lost interest in
already overtaken him.
this distant project with a complicated client, the building’s
Isozaki, once called “the Emperor of Japanese design and realization were entirely taken over by my own
Architecture” by Tadao Ando (1985), had won multiple practice. Isozaki had become disinterested in working for
other international awards, including the RIBA Gold commercial developers. Thanks to the generosity of Arata
Medal in 1986, the Chicago Architecture Award in 1990, Isozaki, I was able to team up with him as a then-only
and the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Architectural Biennale 30-year-old young architect and have my name associated
in 1996. He almost won the Pritzker Prize earlier, in 1995, with him.
when the Pritzker committee debated whether to give the Today, architects are subjected to elaborate forms of
prize to Isozaki or Tadao Ando. According to Frank Gehry, quality control and project management, squeezing out all
then a member of the jury, Isozaki blamed him later, the time, it requires to develop complex geometric elements
unraveling a long friendship. When asked about being in the name of reducing the risks and costs of the project.
passed over, Isozaki replied that he did not want the award: Isozaki has shown us how powerful buildings can be as a
In his view, “a Pritzker concluded a career,” and he did not cultural and social statement. However, the neoliberalism
want to stop working. The situation became so obviously of the 1990s has led to the increasing disappearance of
unfair and bizarre that one critic called him “the best and the “public” as the client, with the commercialization and
most influential living architect never to have received a privatization of public space. Toward the later part of his
Pritzker Architecture Prize” (Betsky, 2019). career, he was not interested in meeting private clients, such
In 2019, I was relieved to learn that he finally received as developers, or spending any time with them; he always
the recognition. Thorne noted in the Pritzker Prize preferred to build for the public (rather than working for
laudation (2019) that: “Arata Isozaki is an architect who private interests) and spend precious time with artists and
didn’t follow trends, yet evolved constantly over the years. friends.
If we look at the early works, compare them to the middle All of this is, I believe because the ideas and formal
works, and then finally the most recent ones, we see that originality that continued to drive his architecture are
they are all quite different. In his search for meaningful still influential internationally. First is the search for a
architecture, he created buildings of great quality that to philosophy, followed by the application of that philosophy.
this day defy categorizations, reflect his constant evolution, There is no doubt that he was one of the most important
and are always fresh in their approach.” When asked about and influential architects of the second half of the
the diversity of his oeuvre, Isozaki replied (2019): “My 20 century. His work, although not yet fully understood,
th
identity is that every time I like to create a difference. is still very relevant (Oshima, 2009). However, his work
Not in one single style, but also always according to the remains difficult to categorize. Betsky noted, “His buildings

Volume 5 Issue 1 (2023) 15 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.353