Arata Isozaki

Isozaki was born in 1931 in the city of Oita, next to the Gulf of Hiroshima. He was a
teenager when he witnessed the destruction of Japan during World War II. He
intensely experienced the drama after the devastating events of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, completely destroyed by two atomic bombs.
Following the Allied occupation of Japan, Isozaki graduated from the Tokyo
University of Architecture in 1954. He later spent years traveling, escaping the drama
in his country.
In his early years he worked locally to rebuild his hometown, Oita, after the Hiroshima
bomb. He created a medical center, a library, and other facilities in the wake of the
post-war economic and cultural crisis in his country.
Some of its star projects in Asia are: Art Tower Mito, Shanghai Symphony Hall,
Ceramic Park Mino and Tokyo School of Music.

Ymblanter (2013): Mito Art Tower, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mito_Art_Tower_2013.jpg

N509FZ (2017): Shanghai Symphony Hall,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai_Symphony_Hall_%2820170908184127%29.jpg
Monami (2008): Ceramics Park MINO,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceramics_Park_MINO2007-6.jpg

Sasashin (2020): Tokyo College of Music High School,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tokyo_College_of_Music_High_School_2020~.jpg

Commissions soon began to arrive throughout Asia and then throughout the world.
This allowed him to form a creative bridge between Eastern and Western cultures.
Very young, Isozaki became a citizen of the planet, an international creator. At 87
years old he still works from his studio in Okinawa.
He was one of the first Japanese architects to build abroad.
His first international commission was the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los
Angeles (MOCA).
Among his most emblematic projects abroad: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona Olympic
Stadium, Disney Team Building in Orlando, Qatar National Convention Center in
Doha, Pala Alpitour and Allianz Tower in Milan