Kenzō Tange

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Kenzō Tange, 1981

Kenzō Tange ( Japanese 丹 下 健 三 , Tange Kenzō ; born September 4, 1913 in Sakai , † March 22, 2005 in Tokyo ) was an architect well-known beyond the borders of Japan . He was considered to be the main representative of “New Building” in his country. He also made a significant contribution to the development of structuralism . Tange said: “I think it was around 1959 or the beginning of the 1960s that I dealt with a movement that I later called structuralism” (in Plan 2/1982, Amsterdam). In 1987 he was awarded the Pritzker Prize. In 1993 he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale , architecture section.

Life

1955 : Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
1964 : Halls for the Olympic Games in Tokyo : Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyōgijō
Fuji TV (1994)

He spent his childhood in Imabari on Shikoku Island .

After graduating from high school, Tange attended Tokyo University and studied architecture. In 1936 he finished his studies. He then worked for Kunio Maekawa until 1941 .

Then Tange studied urban planning at the University of Tokyo. In 1946 he became an assistant there. His students included Fumihiko Maki , Koji Kamiya , Arata Isozaki , Kisho Kurokawa and Taneo Oki . In 1959 Tange obtained his degree with the title of qualified engineer. Two years later he opened the architecture office Kenzo Tange + Urtec . He later renamed it Kenzo Tange Associate .

From 1963 to 1974 Tange taught as a professor at the University of Tokyo. He was a sought-after teacher who lectured at numerous international universities, for example at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Harvard University , Yale University , Princeton University , Washington University , the Illinois Institute of Technology , the University of California, Berkeley , the University of Alabama and the University of Toronto .

The Japanese architect tried early on to combine avant-garde trends with traditional architecture in his country, to mix Eastern and Western building culture. In the late 1960s, Tange turned to the International Style .

In the course of time, the Japanese continued to develop his designs, and he found a clear structural order. In his architectural work he was influenced by the French architect, painter and designer Le Corbusier . The metabolists also inspired him with their emphasis on functionality, but he did not join them.

With his architecture, Tange had a decisive effect on contemporary architectural styles. His countless awards include the gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the French Academy. In 1987 he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize , the highest distinction in this branch.

But its world fame had been established long before that, for example with the main building of the Hiroshima Peace Museum , which was built between 1949 and 1956. The building became a symbol of peace. It stands as an early example in which Tange combined the novel simplicity of Le Corbusier with the traditional architecture of Japan.

Tange's “Plan for Tokyo 1960” attracted worldwide attention. In it he propagated his extraordinary concept for expanding the metropolis of Tokyo with megastructures and other solutions. The Olympic halls were built in Tokyo in 1964, and Tange was also responsible for the design. The 1970 World Exhibition in Osaka was designed according to his plans. The last two projects in particular consolidated the Japanese architect's international reputation.

In 1967, Tange also showed commitment to urban planning in Bologna, Italy, and when planning the new Librino district with 60,000 inhabitants in Catania, Italy . The Olivetti company commissioned the Japanese master architect to design the company's headquarters in Japan.

Tange's only completed project in the USA is the extension of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts . The measures on the neoclassical old stock from 1911 were completed in 1975. It was enriched with two large symmetrical wings.

His other projects include the Sogestsu Art Center in Tokyo (Japan, 1957), the Kurashiki City Hall in Kurashiki (Japan, 1960), the Ichinomiya Rowhouse in Ichinomiya (Japan, 1961), the Nichinan Cultural Center in Nichinan (Japan, 1963) or St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo (Japan, 1963).

In 1978, Tage was recognized as a person with special cultural merits . In 1980 he was awarded the Order of Culture .

On March 22, 2005, Tange died of heart failure in Tokyo at the age of 91.

Memberships and honors

Projects

Tokyo Prefectural Government (1991)

Modern buildings

Other work

  • 1959: Boston Bay Project urban development (with MIT students )
  • 1960: Tokyo Bay Project urban development in Tokyo
  • 1965: Urban development project in Skopje , Macedonia
  • 1967: Fiera district in Bologna
  • 1970: World Exhibition in akasaka , responsible for planning, roof over the fairground of the Expo '70
  • 1976: Construction of the Nigerian capital city Abuja
  • 1994: Centro direzionale in Naples

Web links

Commons : Kenzō Tange  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Supplementary literature

  • Udo Kultermann; KENZO TANGE. 1946 - 1969. Architecture and Urban Design . New York, Praeger, 1970.
  • Alfred Werner Maurer : Kenzō Tange -The mandalas symbolism as spatial planning- in: Architectural icons on the Côte d'Azur and Provence, Philologus Verlag Saarbruecken 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Honorary Members: Kenzō Tange. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed March 24, 2019 .
  2. ^ American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Book of Members ( PDF ). Retrieved April 11, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Tange, Kenzō
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 丹 下 健 三 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese architect
DATE OF BIRTH September 4, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Sakai , Japan
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 2005
Place of death Tokyo , Japan