toyo ito

toyo ito, interview with one of the leading exponents of contemporary architecture. ito is the author of the sendai mediateque .....................................

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toyo ito

toyo ito is one of the world's most innovative and influential architects.
ito is known for creating extreme concept buildings, in which he seeks to
fuse the physical and virtual worlds.
he is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses issues of the
contemporary 'simulated' city.

born in japan in 1941, ito graduated from tokyo university,
department of architecture in 1965.
after a brief stint in kiyonori kikutake architect and associate,
he started his own studio, 'urban robot' (urbot) in tokyo, 1971.
its name was changed to toyo ito & associates, architects in 1979.

with his domestic constructions 'white U' in 1976 and 'silver hut' in 1984
he created the basis for new concepts of life in centres of population.
he developed a vision of mobile large city communities with the pao projects
'a dwelling for tokyo nomad woman' in1985.
'tower of winds' in yokohama in 1986 and 'egg of winds' in 1991
are interactive landmarks in the public domain as the result of creative
confrontation with the technical possibilities which the future will bring.
more of his important works:
yatsushiro municipal museum, 1991,
old people`s home in yatsushiro, 1994, and
his most recent project:
on 26th january, 2001, in the city of sendai, japan,
the unique multi-purpose public cultural centre, sendai mediatheque,
was opened to much acclaim.
this stunning complex accommodates a mixed program of library, art gallery,
audio-visual library, film studio and café.
it was a competition winning scheme chosen from amongst 235
competing proposals.

he has served as guest professor at columbia university and is an
honorary professor at the university of north london.
he has won many awards including the architecture institute
of japan award for 'silver hut' in 1986,
33rd mainrich art award for yatsushiro municipal museum in 1992,
AA 'interach ‘97' grand prix of the union of architects in bulgaria,
gold medal in 1997, education minister’s art encouragement prize in japan in 1998,
the arnold w. brunner memorial prize in architecture from the american
academy of arts and letters in 2000 and the gold prize of the japanese good
design award in 2001.

his work has been exhibited widely, ranging from 'vision of japan'
at victoria and albert museum, london in 1991,
'vision and reality' at louisiana museum of modern art 2000
to the travelling exhibition 'blurring architecture' (tokyo, antwerp, auckland in 1999-2000)

and most recently the very beautiful exhibition, design by toyo ito
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'toyo ito architetto' at the basilica palladiana di vicenza, 2001

http://www.abacoarchitettura.it

see the amazing book

'toyo ito - le opere i progetti gli scritti'
edited by electa
http://www.electaweb.com
english language
http://www.phaidon.com
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read his statements:
'image of architecture in electronic age'
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designboom met toyo ito in his exhibition at the basilica palladiana in vicenza, italy
on october 27st, 2001.
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what is the best moment of the day?
I like the evening very much, naturally for working the morning is the best time,
but in the evening the city totally changes and it's also when you can
go have a drink.

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
I don't listen to music much, classical music if anything at all,
bach or a japanese composer takemitsu toru,
who has had a great infuence on me both in terms of music and
also his writings, he wrote a few books.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
there is nothing.

do you read architecture and design magazines?
I haven't seen any recently and when I do look at them
I flip through them quickly.

where do you get news from?
mostly from the impressions I get from walking around different cities.

I assume you notice how women dress.
do you have any preferences?
I don't have any particular taste regarding women's fashion,
but I like to look at women's fashion because I think that is perhaps
where modern sensibility pays the most attention.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
suits that most japanese businessmen wear. (laughs)

[ see the quicktime clip, 440 kb ]

do you have any pets?
no.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
lately I have spent very little time in my office, when I draw or sketch,
the most creative moments are the morning at home
or at the office with my staff.

who would you like to design something for?
I don't have any preferences for types of buildings to design,
lets say that lately I would like to design private homes.

do you discuss or exchange ideas with other architects?
in the past when I was young and I had a lot of free time
I used to have discussions with other architects
who were my contemporaries.
they were complicated discussions, long,
but now I rarely discuss things and
only with a few architects with whom I exchange opinions.

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
often my work is described by others as being light and transparent.

what project has given you the most satisfaction?
the sendai mediateque.
it is a project that I worked on for 6 years,
it was very stimulating.

is there any architect from the past you admire?
there are many, le corbusier, mies van der rohe,
and those with whom I have had direct contact, like arata isozaki
and kiyonori kikutake, whom I worked with.

what current architects do you appreciate?
for example I admire rem koolhaas' vision of architecture.

architecture as media-clothing...?
I compared man to tarzan.
tarzan in the jungle creates his body and develops it in contact with nature,
in relation to the surrounding environment.
modern man is a sort of tarzan who lives in the world of media,
within a very developed technology.
architecture should be a sort of media-clothing,
which is necessary in order for man to have a relationship
with and integrate himself into the environment.
the idea of media-clothing is a metaphor. (laughs)

did you always want to become an architect?
in reality I always wanted to be a baseball champ.
I have always been athletic and played baseball.
at a certain point since I hadn't managed to enter any university,
I had no choice but to sign up for architecture.

[ see the quicktime clip, 308 kb ]

on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of
unemployment, criminality and pollution.
what are you afraid of regarding the future ?
the thing that worries me the most is that
everyone wears the same things,
eats the same things,
lives in the same environments,
this is what worries me the most.