ARCHITETTURA
ARTIST BIOS
Below are biographies of the architects featured in the ARCHITETTURA series:
toyo ito:
toyo ito, a graduate of the university of tokyo in 1965, worked under kiyonori kikutake until 1969. in 1971, he opened his office, toyo ito and associates, considered to be amongst the most revolutionary architectural establishments. ito utilizes organic expression, focusing in part on the transformation of nature, climate and wind, as well as transparency and open spaces. amongst ito’s major works are the silver hut residence (tokyo, 1984), the yatsushiro municipal museum (yatsushiro, kumamoto, 1989-91) and the tower of winds (yokohama, kanagawa, 1986). most recently, ito has designed the odate jukai dome (odate, akita 1995-97) and the sendai mediatheque in miyagi (1995-2002).
selected works:
oita landwirtschaftspark-oita agricultural park, hayami-gun (1997)
halle in odate, odate (1997)
ota-ku resort complex, chisagata-gun (1995-1998)
sendai mediathek, miyagi (1995-2002)
nagaoka lyric hall, nigata (1994-1997)
elderly housing, yatsushiro (1994)
library. paris (1992)
shimosuwa lake suwa museum and akahiko memorial museum
nagano (1990-1993)
kindertagesstätte in frankfurt – eckenheim-
frankfurt am main, (1987-1993)
tower of winds, yokohama, kanagawa, (1986)
nicholas grimshaw:
1939: Born
1965: Graduated with honors from the Architectural Association School of Architecture awarded bronze medal for best student thesis
1970s: completed well known works for BMW, Citroen, Zanussi, Vitra, and Herman Miller
1980: Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners firm commences
1982: won the Sports Council’s national competition for sports hall design in the UK
1988: received commission to act as architects for the Waterloo Int’l Terminal
1993: completed Waterloo International Terminal
selected works:
Hartspring Business Park, Watford (1986)
Xerox Research Engineering Centre, Welwyn Garden City, (1988)
Venice Biennale, (1991)
The Western Morning News, Plymouth, (1992)
British Pavilion at Expo 92 in Spain, (1992)
Ignus Headquarters and Factory in Cologne, (1992)
Combined Operation Center for British Airways at Heathrow, (1993)
Berlin Stock Exchange and Communications Center, (1991-1995)
itsuko hasegawa:
itsuko hasegawa was born in 1941 and has been amongst the first reputed women architects in japan. hasegawa was directly influenced by kazuo shinohara, whom she studied under in 1969 at the tokyo institute of technology. ten years later she opened her office, itsuko hasegawa atelier. major projects designed by hasegawa include the shonandai cultural center (fujisawa, kanagawa, 1987 – 90), the oshima-machi picture book museum (imizu, toyama, 1992-94) and the sumida culture factory (sumida, tokyo, 1991-94) and the niigata performing arts center (niigata, niigata, 1993-98). . hasegawa often uses artificial, natural forms in her work. this aesthetic can be seen most clearly here in the museum of fruit and in the shonandai cultural center, which is modeled after the universe. her example, as a female architect who has been able to attain critical acclaim, has been inspirational to many women in the field.
education:
1964: Graduated from Department of Architecture, Kanto Gakuin University
1964-69: Worked in the office of Kiyonori Kikutake
1969-71: Research Student in Department of Architecture, Tokyo Institute of Technology
1971-78: Assistant Student in Department of Architecture, Tokyo Institute of Technology
1979: Established Itsuko Hasegawa Atelier
1988: Lecturer at Waseda University
1989: Lecturer at Tokyo Institute of Technology
1992: Visiting Professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design
1993: Lecturer at Niigata University
1995: Lecturer at Tokyo Denki University
selected works:
1980: House in Kuwahara, Matsuyama
1982: Aono Building, Matsuyama, Ehime
1990: Shonandai Cultural Center, Fujisawa, Kanagawa
1991: STM House, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo
1995: Museum Of Fruit, Yamanashi
1998: Imai Newtown Housing, Nagano (Olympic Village)
selected awards & honors:
1986: Japan Inter-Design Forum Award
1986: Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan for Design
1990: First Prize, Invited Competition for Sumida Cultural Center, Sumida-Ku
1992: BCS Award, Building Constructors Society, Shonandai Cultural Center
1995: First Prize, Invited Competition of Shiogama City Town Center
oscar niemeyer:
oscar niemeyer was born in rio de janeiro, brazil in 1907. a graduate of the escola nacional de belas artes, he collaborated with a team of architects and le corbusier on a new ministry of education and health in rio de janeiro. in 1956 niemeyer was appointed architectural adviser to nova cap – an organization charged with implementing lúcio costa’s plans for brazil’s new capital brasília – and was named chief architect the following year, having designed most of its important buildings. this was the epoch of niemeyer’s career. he continued working in brasília until 1964 when his affiliation with the communist party forced him to exile in france. in 1970, having returned to brazil to teach, niemeyer was awarded the gold medal of the american institute of architecture. most recently, he was presented with the gold medal of the royal institute of british architecture.
although highly varied, his structures generally have an open, airy quality in which volume and empty space are integrated in unusual patterns. buildings erected on concrete or steel stilts are distinctive features of his designs.
selected works:
1937 – 1943: ministry of education and health building, rio de janeiro (with other architects under direction of le corbusier).
1940 – 1942: casino at pampulha, minas gerais (today museum of fine arts). engineer: joaquim cardozo.
1942: niemeyer house (lagoa house), near the lagoa rodrigo de freitas, rio de janeiro.
1951: copan building, são paulo.
1958 – 1960: praça dos três poderes (plaza of the three powers), brasília.
1962: international exposition complex, tripoli, lebanon.
1963 – 1964: university of haifa, israel (with h. muller, s. rawett, and g. dimanche).
1967 – 1971/1980: communist party headquarters, paris (with j. de roche, p. chemetov, j. prouve).
1968 – 1975: mondadori publishing building, segrate, near milan, italy (with luciano pozzo).
1969 – 1977: university of constantine, algeria.
1972 – 1982: maison de la culture, le havre.
1972 – 1980: bourse de travail, bobigny, near paris.
1976 – 1980: l’humanité headquarters, saint denis, near paris.
1980 – 1981: library and monument for juscelino kubitschek, brasília (with honorio peçanha).
1983 – 1984: samba stadium, rio de janeiro (1984). structural engineer: josé sussekind.
1984 – 1986: centros integrados de educação pública (cieps), state of rio de janeiro.
1989: memorial da américa latina, são paulo. structural engineer: josé sussekind. (parliament building completed 1992).
1991 – 1997: museu de arte contemporânea, niterói