Urabe Shizutaro

Kurashiki Ivy Square, 1974

Kurashiki, City Hall, 1980

Kanagawa Literature Museum, 1984

Urabe Shizutarō ( Japanese 浦 辺 鎮 太郎 ; born March 31, 1909 in Kojima County ( Okayama Prefecture ), now part of Kurashiki ; died June 8, 1991 ) was a Japanese architect of the Shōwa period .

life and work

Urabe Shizutaro graduated from the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo in 1934 and joined the Kurashiki Rayon company . There he designed all the buildings for the company until 1964. As early as 1962, he had his own - with the support of the President of Kurahshiki Rayon , Ōhara Sōichirō ( 大 原 總 一郎 ; 1909–1968), who also took care of construction work for public facilities in Kurashiki Office opened. After that, Urabe mainly dealt with projects for Kurashiki, where he was at home from his youth.

Urabe is largely responsible for the homely appearance of Kurashiki today. On the one hand, he has restored old buildings that show Kurashiki as a city with history and, on the other hand, he has expanded the cityscape with new buildings to match. He is one of the “regional architects” who take care of a place with its special history. His pioneering work is therefore highly valued.

Urabe's exemplary works include the extension to the Ōhara Art Museum in 1961, the Kurashiki International Hotel in 1963, the Kurashiki Culture Hall in 1969 and the Kurashiki Ivy Square in 1974. In the Hafenblick Park ( 港 の 見 え る 丘 公園 Minato no mieru oka kōen ) in Yokohama he 1984 the Kanagawa Literature Museum .

Urabe received in 1965 and 1975 the prize of the Japanese Society for Architecture ( 日本 建築 学会 賞 作品 賞 Nihon Kenchiku Gakaishō Sakuhinshō ) for one work and in 1986 the Grand Prize of the Society ( 日本 建築 学会 賞 大 賞 Nihon Kenchiku Gakaishō Daishō ).

Remarks

1. ↑ Japanese: Kanagawa Kindai Bungaku-kan (神奈川 近代 文学 館).
2. ↑ Today Kuraray .

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Urabe Shizutarō . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .