Toyo Ito Architecture
Toyo Ito
Born : June 1st, 1941
Website: http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/
Winner of 2013 Pritzker Prize
The gentleman with the loudspeaker in the left photo looks quite young for his age. He is continuing to announce new projects and recently got alot of coverage in the media when he was the runner-up for the 2020 Olympic main stadium design competition (Won by Kengo Kuma)
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the unit SANAA, winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2010 previously worked for his office.
Works by Ito in Tokyo
Kering Building (2004)
＊Previously TOD's Omotesando
The concrete walls resemble the branches of the Keyaki (zelkova) trees along Omotesando Avenue but are also part of the structure. Give credit to the designer of the Hugo Boss building next door (Norihiko Dan/2013) as he was able to build something that would blend in, rather than conflict with this building.
The ownership changed in autumn 2020.
Location: 5-1-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Mikimoto Ginza 2 (2005)
Ito continues in blending design and structure with this work in the center of Ginza.
Take a peek inside if the store is open, and you will notice there are no internal columns. On the same street, there is another building by a jewelry brand, the DeBeers Ginza with the curby walls (Jun Mitsui 2007)
You'll notice each buildings are very narrow, reflecting the high property prices in the district.
Location: 2-4-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Three Mushrooms (2021)
Toyo Ito joined other world-class architects in the Tokyo Toilet Project.
The name basically explains everything about the appearance. It was designed to blend in with the forest of the Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine where it is located.
Location: 5-1-2 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku. Facing the Yamate-dori Avenue
Works outside Tokyo
Sendai Mediatheque (2001)
This building is in the heart of Sendai, a major city in the Tohoku region of northern Japan.
A city library, theater and a waiting space for city buses are inside this public facility.
The latest technology was used for the structural design and the building went virtually harmless in the M7.9 earthquake that hit the area in 2011.
Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture (2011)
This facility is in the beautiful Omishima Island on the Seto Inland Sea. Other islands along the sea such as Naoshima have tried to lure visitors with modern art and architecture, but Omishima is tougher to access than some of the other ones. Take the ferry from Imabari Port to Munakata and connect to a bus (second stop). Hardly anyone speaks English here, so the travel may be a challenge for non-Japanese speakers. The museum was designed by Ito, but the exhibits focus more on projects Ito and his firm is doing to revitalize Omishima Island. Like the many other rural areas in Japan, Omishima is seeing a rapidly aging population with very little people moving in.
Official website