Fumihiko Maki Architecture
Born: September 6th, 1928
Died: June 6th, 2024
Awarded Pritzker Prize in 1993
Website http://www.maki-and-associates.co.jp/
Maki was educated at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and began his career as an assistant professor at the Washington University in St. Louis.
He has done many works in the US, including the 4 World Trade Center in New York.
One of his famous quotes is "architecture is the elegant use of wasted space"
Maki was extremely critical of the Zaha Hadid design for the New National Stadium and was influential in the movement to scrap the plan. He repeatedly campaigned for the new stadium to have a capacity of around 50,000 rather than 80,000.
Hillside Terrace (1969-1998)
This housing/commercial facility was built in four different phases spanning 30 years. Over the years, the Daikanyama neighborhood has changed from a quiet farming village to one of the most high-end areas in town.
Spiral (1985)
It's on the busy Aoyama Dori near the Omotesando Intersection. As the name suggests, there is a spiral ramp at the back of the building.
Open from around 11am-8pm.
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (1990)
Standing right next to the National Stadium, the venue hosted a regular season NBA game in 1990 and was also used for the table tennis competition in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It is ironic that the design looks almost like a scaled-down version of the original National Stadium proposal by Zaha Hadid.
Makuhari Messe (1989)
Located 30 kilometers east of Tokyo in the city of Chiba, this convention and event hall is one of the largest in the country.
Annual events include the Tokyo Game Show, Summer Sonic and the Tokyo Auto Salon. The Tokyo Motor Show was also held here before moving to the Tokyo Big Sight in 2011.
The facility consists of two convention halls including Halls 9-11 (photo) featuring a gigantic roof that is over 500 meters long.