Kiyonori Kikutake Explained

(April 1, 1928  - December 26, 2011) was a prominent Japanese architect known as one of the founders of the Japanese Metabolist group.^[1] He was also the tutor and employer of several important Japanese architects, such as Toyo Ito, Shōzō Uchii and Itsuko Hasegawa.

Background

Kikutake was born in 1928 in Kurume, Japan and graduated from Waseda University in 1950.^[2]

Career

Kikutake is best known for his "Marine City" project of 1958, which formed part of the Metabolist Manifesto launched at the World Design Conference in Tokyo in 1960 under the leadership of Kenzo Tange. He, along with fellow member Kisho Kurokawa was invited to exhibit work at the "Visionary Architecture" exhibition in New York of 1961, through which the Metabolists gained international recognition. Kikutake continued his practice until his death in 2011, producing several key public buildings throughout Japan, as well as lecturing internationally. He was also the President and then Honorary President of the Japan Institute of Architects.

Awards

Kikutake was the recipient of numerous awards both in his native Japan and internationally. These include the Japan Academy of Architecture Prize (1970) and the UIA (Union Internationale des Architectes) Auguste Perret Prize (1978).

List of works

• Sky House, Tokyo, 1958
• Marine City (proposal), 1958
• Tatebayashi Civic Centre, Gumma, 1963
• Administrative building of Izumo Shrine, Shimane, 1963
• Pacific Hotel Chigasaki, Kanagawa, 1966
• Miyakonojo Civic Hall, Miyazaki, 1966
• Expo Tower, Expo '70, Osaka, 1969
• Pasadena Heights, 1975
• Matsumi Tower, Ibaraki, 1976
• Tanabe Art Museum, Shimane, 1979
• Hotel Seiyo Ginza, Tokyo, 1987
• Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo, 1993
• Hotel Sofitel Tokyo, Tokyo, 1994
• Kitaya Inari Shrine, Tokyo, 1997
• Shimane Art Museum, Shimane, 1999
• National Showa Memorial Museum, Tokyo, 1999
• Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, 2005

References

• Kisho Kurokawa, "The Origin and History of the Metabolist Movement" - Charles Jencks, Kisho Kurokawa. Studio Vista, 1976
• Botond Bognar, "Beyond the Bubble: Contemporary Japanese Architecture" ; Phaidon, 2008

External links

• K. Kikutake Architects
• Marine City, 1958

Notes and References

1. News: http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/news/120105/art12010513040002-n1.htm . ja:日本を代表する建築家、菊竹清訓氏が死去 ８３歳 建築運動「メタボリズム」をリード . 2012-01-05 . . Japanese . 5 January 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120430055655/http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/news/120105/art12010513040002-n1.htm . 30 April 2012 .
2. Web site: Kiyonori Kikutake. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 5 January 2012.