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Kisho Kurokawa
Kisho Kurokawa (黒川 紀章, Kurokawa Kishō) (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and a founder of the Metabolist Movement.
Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1957. He then attended University of Tokyo, where he studied under the supervision of architect Kenzo Tange, a major figure in postwar Japanese architecture and a key influence on the development of the Metabolist Movement. Under Tange's supervision, Kurokawa completed and received a master's degree in 1959 and was exposed to experimental urban design concepts that would later shape his work. Kurokawa then went on to study for a doctorate of philosophy, but subsequently dropped out in 1964. Kisho Kurokawa was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture by the Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia in Sept. 7, 2002.
Kurokawa had a daughter and a son from his first marriage to his college classmate. His second marriage was to Ayako Wakao (若尾 文子 Wakao Ayako), Kurokawa's younger brother works in industrial design but has also cooperated with Kurokawa on some architecture projects.
Kurokawa founded Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates in 1962. The firm became an important platform for this architectural work, producing a wide range of projects including cultural institutions, museums, airports, and large-scale urban developments across Asia and Europe. Through this practice, Kurokawa used his theoretical ideas about modularity, adaptability, and sustainability to built projects. The enterprise's head office is in Tokyo with branch offices in Osaka, Nagoya, Astana, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Los Angeles. The company is registered with the Japanese government as a "First Class Architects Office."
Although he had practiced the concept of sustainable and eco-minded architecture for four decades, Kisho Kurokawa became more adamant about environmental protection in his latter years. In 2007, he ran for governor of Tokyo and then for a seat in the House of Councillors in the 2007 Japanese House of Councillors election. Although not elected, Kisho Kurokawa successfully established the Green Party to help provide environmental protection. Also in 2007, Kurokawa created the structure of the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute, which helps to develop environmentally-conscious business practices. Kurokawa was a stakeholder and founding Chair of the Executive Advisory Board of the Anaheim, California-based university since 1998 and his wife Ayako Wakao-Kurokawa serves as Honorary Chairman of the institute.
Kurokawa wrote extensively on philosophy and architecture and lectured widely. He wrote that there are two traditions inherent in any culture: the visible and the invisible. His work, he claimed, carried the invisible tradition of Japan. In 1972, he received a grant from the Graham Foundation to deliver a lecture at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
While Kurokawa's architecture, particularly within Metabolism, does not explicitly follow traditional Japanese forms, some scholars argue that it retains elements of Japanese aesthetics.[citation needed] However, it is difficult to claim that the modern technologies and material he called on was inherited from the Japanese tradition and that the traditional forms of Japanese architecture can be recognized in his contemporary concrete or steel towers. Some architectural critics suggest that Kurokawa's designs evolved from Japanese traditions, incorporating elements of Japanese aesthetics.[citation needed]
His architecture focused on keeping traditional Japanese concepts invisible, especially materiality, impermanence, receptivity and detail. Kurokawa specifically referred to these four factors in his discussions of new wave Japanese Architecture.
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Kisho Kurokawa
Kisho Kurokawa (黒川 紀章, Kurokawa Kishō) (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and a founder of the Metabolist Movement.
Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1957. He then attended University of Tokyo, where he studied under the supervision of architect Kenzo Tange, a major figure in postwar Japanese architecture and a key influence on the development of the Metabolist Movement. Under Tange's supervision, Kurokawa completed and received a master's degree in 1959 and was exposed to experimental urban design concepts that would later shape his work. Kurokawa then went on to study for a doctorate of philosophy, but subsequently dropped out in 1964. Kisho Kurokawa was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture by the Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia in Sept. 7, 2002.
Kurokawa had a daughter and a son from his first marriage to his college classmate. His second marriage was to Ayako Wakao (若尾 文子 Wakao Ayako), Kurokawa's younger brother works in industrial design but has also cooperated with Kurokawa on some architecture projects.
Kurokawa founded Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates in 1962. The firm became an important platform for this architectural work, producing a wide range of projects including cultural institutions, museums, airports, and large-scale urban developments across Asia and Europe. Through this practice, Kurokawa used his theoretical ideas about modularity, adaptability, and sustainability to built projects. The enterprise's head office is in Tokyo with branch offices in Osaka, Nagoya, Astana, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Los Angeles. The company is registered with the Japanese government as a "First Class Architects Office."
Although he had practiced the concept of sustainable and eco-minded architecture for four decades, Kisho Kurokawa became more adamant about environmental protection in his latter years. In 2007, he ran for governor of Tokyo and then for a seat in the House of Councillors in the 2007 Japanese House of Councillors election. Although not elected, Kisho Kurokawa successfully established the Green Party to help provide environmental protection. Also in 2007, Kurokawa created the structure of the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute, which helps to develop environmentally-conscious business practices. Kurokawa was a stakeholder and founding Chair of the Executive Advisory Board of the Anaheim, California-based university since 1998 and his wife Ayako Wakao-Kurokawa serves as Honorary Chairman of the institute.
Kurokawa wrote extensively on philosophy and architecture and lectured widely. He wrote that there are two traditions inherent in any culture: the visible and the invisible. His work, he claimed, carried the invisible tradition of Japan. In 1972, he received a grant from the Graham Foundation to deliver a lecture at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
While Kurokawa's architecture, particularly within Metabolism, does not explicitly follow traditional Japanese forms, some scholars argue that it retains elements of Japanese aesthetics.[citation needed] However, it is difficult to claim that the modern technologies and material he called on was inherited from the Japanese tradition and that the traditional forms of Japanese architecture can be recognized in his contemporary concrete or steel towers. Some architectural critics suggest that Kurokawa's designs evolved from Japanese traditions, incorporating elements of Japanese aesthetics.[citation needed]
His architecture focused on keeping traditional Japanese concepts invisible, especially materiality, impermanence, receptivity and detail. Kurokawa specifically referred to these four factors in his discussions of new wave Japanese Architecture.