Isozaki, Arata [key], 1931–, Japanese architect, b. Oita. One of his nation's most important contemporary architects, he has an international reputation and has designed notable buildings in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He worked for Kenzo Tange (1954–63) before opening his own firm in 1963. While he has no particular style, Isozaki's works combine a traditional Japanese sensibility with Western postmodernism, wittily employing complex asymmetrical forms, innovatively juxtaposed materials, eclectic formal borrowings from past styles, and technologically sophisticated details. Among his more than 100 buildings are the Oita Prefectural Library, Oita, Japan (1966); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1986); the New Tokyo City Hall (1986); Team Disney, Orlando, Fla. (1990); the Kyoto Concert Hall (1995); and the Center of Science and Industry, Columbus, Ohio (1999). Isozaki is based in Okinawa, Japan, with offices in China, Italy, and Spain. In 2019 he was awarded the Pritzker Prize.
See P. Drew, The Architecture of Arata Isozaki (1982); D. B. Stewart and H. Yatsuka, Arata Isozaki: Architecture 1960–1990 (1991).
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