Born 1931 in Oita City,
Japan. In
1954 graduated from the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of
Engineering at the University of Tokyo. In 1963 established Arata Isozaki &
Associates, the base from which he has continued to work ever since. From his
1960s work such as Oita Prefectural Library, to his 1990s work in locations as
far afield as Barcelona, Orlando, Kraków, Nagi in Okayama Prefecture, Kyoto,
Nara, La Coruña, Akiyoshidai in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Berlin, to his 21st
century work in the Middle East, China, Central Asia, and elsewhere, Isozaki
has created an architecture so personal in its ideas and spaces that it defies
characterization in any single school of thought. At the same time he resists
the temptation to apply a signature style to his jobs, preferring instead to
create architectural solutions specific to the political, social and cultural
contexts of the client and site in question. By harnessing the latent strength
that has existed in architecture since its inception, Isozaki has been able to
wield influence on knowledge systems far beyond his own field. In addition,
through his activity as a critic and a jury-member for major public and private
architecture commissions and competitions, he has contributed significantly to
making the visions of the world’s most radical architects a reality. Through
Isozaki it became possible that a global discourse be held at a level where
individual voices can be heard. His activities, spanning over a half century,
have gone beyond thought, art, design, music, film, theatre and of course
architecture, and they have raised questions spanning multiple ages and
multiple disciplines.