Kenzo Tange

Kenzo Tange
b. Osaka, Japan, 1913.

The leading and famous architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of Tokyo, graduating in 1938, and worked for Kunio Maekawa (1938-41) before returning to his alma mater to study city planning in the graduate school (1942-5). He became assistant professor of architecture in 1946 and received a D.Eng. in 1959. In 1961 he became the principal of Kenzo Tange + Urtec (now called Kenzo Tange Associates). He was professor of urban engineering at the University of Tokyo from 1963 to 1974, when he became a professor emeritus. A second- generation Modern Movement architect, Tange attempted in the first half of his career to meld Modernism ? particularly the Modernism of Le Corbusier - with traditional architectural forms, producing some of the most striking works of Twentieth Century Japanese architecture. In the late 1960s he repudiated his earlier regionalism and became an exponent of an abstract internationalist style, which he has displayed in numerous projects, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. He has been consistent, however, in his concern for a clear structural order, and his formal virtuosity has rarely been questioned. As an urbanist, he attempted to give physical coherence to the city by the introduction of so-called “megastructures”, huge structures accommodating services and transportation, and he was closely associated with (but never a member of) the Metabolist movement, which adopted a similar approach. He was also influential as the teacher of many leading third- generation Japanese architects, including Arata Isozaki, Kisho Kurokawa, and Fumihiko Maki. He has received the gold medals of the RIBA (1965), the AIA (1966) and the French Academy of Architecture (1973) and the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1987).

List of major buildings / works:
Hiroshima Peace Center, Hiroshima, 1955.
Kagawa Prefectural Government Office, Takamatsu, 1958.
Kurashiki City Hall, Kurashiki, 1960.
Tokyo Plan, 1960.
Tsukiji Redevelopment Plan, Tokyo, 1964.
Yoyogi Olympic Gymnasiums, Tokyo, 1964.
City Centre Reconstruction Project, Skopje, Yugoslavia, 1966.
Press and Broadcasting Centre, Yamanashi, 1967.
Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Centre, Tokyo, 1967.
Festival Plaza, Expo 70, Osaka, 1970.
Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, Oran, Algeria, 1976.
Overseas Union Bank Centre, Singapore,
1980. City Hall, Tokyo, 1991.

Bibliography
Kenzo Tange, Walter Gropius, and Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Katsura: Tradition and Creation in Japanese Architecture, Tokyo and New Haven, 1960.
Kenzo Tange, Noboru Kawazoe, and Yoshio Watanabe, Ise: Origin ofJapanese Architecture, Tokyo, 1962, Cambridge, Mass., 1968.
Udo Kultermann, Kenzo Tange 1946-1969: Architecture and Urban Design, Zurich, 1970, London and New York, 1972.

Filed Under T on October 16, 2008

Tagged With , , ,

Related Posts:

Comments

8 Responses to “Kenzo Tange”

  1. Who Is Kenzo Tange | Beyond Origins the Discussion on October 22nd, 2008 4:05 pm

    [...] leading and Famous Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  2. All About Kenzo Tange | ASClock The Blog About Everything! on October 22nd, 2008 4:05 pm

    [...] leading and World Famous Architects in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  3. Who Is Kenzo Tange on October 22nd, 2008 4:07 pm

    [...] leading and Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  4. Who Is Kenzo | La Chapelle Agency Fancy Ass Blog on October 22nd, 2008 4:07 pm

    [...] leading and Famous Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  5. DRM Alternatives » Blog Archive » All About Kenzo Tange on October 22nd, 2008 4:17 pm

    [...] leading and World Famous Architects in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  6. All About Kenzo Tange | Huimalamainakupuna The Hawaiian Blog on October 22nd, 2008 4:29 pm

    [...] leading and Famous Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  7. USGreenHomeBuilding.com » Blog Archive » All About Kenzo on October 22nd, 2008 4:38 pm

    [...] leading and Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

  8. » The Great Kenzo Articles at ArticlesWebLog.com on October 26th, 2008 10:14 am

    [...] leading and Architect in Japan for a quarter-century after the Second World War. Tange studied at the University of [...]

Leave a Reply