Toyo Ito is an architect of Japanese origin who made a name for himself in the 20th and 21st centuries and set an example and even mentored many people with his own perspective.
He adopted a perspective advocating a radical futuristic approach in his architectural designs. It was also awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2013. Toyo Ito was 72 years old when he received the award, and when accepting the award, the Pritzker jury noted that “his architecture reflects an air of optimism, lightness, and joy, and is imbued with a sense of both uniqueness and universality.”
THE LIFE OF TOYO ITO
Toyo Ito was born on June 1, 1941, in Japanese-occupied Korea to Japanese parents. They moved to Japan with their sisters and mother in 1943. Ito studied architecture at the University of Tokyo. Toyo Ito graduated from Tokyo University in 1965.
Toyo Ito (born 1 June 1941) is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated" city, and has been called "one of the world's most innovative and influential architects."
In the 1960s, he started working at the Kikutake firm to begin his apprenticeship with Kikutake Kiyonori, one of the leaders of the Japanese architectural movement Metabolist School. He left the company when the Metabolist movement began to lose its continuity. Leaving the Kikutake firm, Toyo Ito established his own office, Urban Robot (URBOT), in Tokyo in 1971, initially focusing on residential and other small-scale projects.
One of his earliest works, which can be considered as his important works, is the White U House in Tokyo. Toyo Ito designed this house as a place of solace and shelter for his newly widowed sister. It was originally designed in an “L” shape. However, with the changes made to the design during the construction phase, it eventually took a "U" shape. What makes this house interesting is that it is built in a U-shape around a central courtyard and has no windows facing the outside. Additionally, several small openings in the ceiling offered a single view of the outside world and created stunning lighting effects within the pure white interior of the house.
Over time, Ito began to write his name on bigger works and new things started to be tried in every work he wrote. The water tower in Yokohama can be cited as one of these.
When Toyo Ito built the Tower of Winds water tower, he turned it into a visually striking work by covering it with a perforated aluminum sheet and hundreds of lights configured to respond to wind speed and sound waves. While the structure only reflects light during the day, it creates a dazzling image at night with colors and patterns changing with the wind.
The construction of Sendai Mediatheque in Japan was completed in 2001. Toyo Ito designed the Sendai Mediatheque inspired by floating seaweed. From the outside, the transparent structure of approximately 22,000 square meters resembles a huge aquarium. The building's seven floors are supported by inclined columns that resemble ribbons of seaweed swaying underwater. Although no walls divide the interior of the building, the interior is divided into many areas thanks to its design.
Sendai Mediatheque, like Ito's other designs, characteristically evokes images from the natural world, reflecting his belief that "all architecture is an extension of nature." Similarly, Kaohsiung National Stadium has a monumental spiral-shaped roof that resembles a coiled snake. In addition, one of Ito's most ambitious projects is the Metropolitan Opera House in T Sinai-Chung, for which he received the Pritzker prize. Ito has received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion for lifetime achievements at the 2002 Venice Biennale, the 2006 Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, the 2008 Friedrich Kiesler Architecture Prize, the 2010 Praemium Imperiale for Architecture and Art Award, and the Japan Arts Association. received an award. Throughout his career, Toyo Ito has been actively involved as an educator, teaching at various universities in Japan and abroad and serving as a mentor to many aspiring architects.
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Çalışmalarını ve daha birçoğunu bulabileceğiniz Toyo İto’nun kendi internet sitesi:
http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/