Japanese architect Arata Isozaki wins the 2019 Pritzker Prize
Culture & lifestyle — di Elisabetta Scuri
Japanese starchitect Arata Isozaki, who has designed famous buildings in Italy, has won the prestigious 2019 Pritzker Prize.
Japanese architect Arata Isozaki wins the 2019 Pritzker Prize
Japanese starchitect Arata Isozaki, who has designed famous buildings in Italy, has won the prestigious 2019 Pritzker Prize.
Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, known for designing the second tallest skyscraper in Italy, has won the 2019 Pritzker Prize for his ability to "transcend the structure of architecture to raise questions that go beyond eras and boundaries". It is the most prestigious accolade in its field, awarded each year to architects who have demonstrated "talent, vision and have made a significant contribution to humanity" through their art. This year's award ceremony will take place in May at the Palace of Versailles.
Who is Arata Isozaki
When I was 14 years old, my home city was razed to the ground. The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on the island opposite, so I grew up close to the epicentre of the explosion. There were only ruins, no buildings, not even a city. I was surrounded by shelters and barracks. So my first experience of architecture was the absence of architecture, and I began to think about how people might rebuild their homes and their cities.Arata Isozaki
Isozaki was born in 1931 in Ōita, on the island of Kyūshū: the tragedies of the Second World War profoundly influenced him. He believes that buildings are part of a "living" organism, the metropolis, in constant flux as it responds to the needs of its inhabitants. He was a pupil of Kenzo Tange, considered one of the greatest figures in twentieth-century architecture; he graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1954 and nine years later opened his own studio.
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In Italy, Arata Isozaki is known for designing the Olympic indoor arena in Turin, which hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the Isozaki Tower, known as "il Dritto", one of the skyscrapers in the Citylife district of Milan. Built with Italian architect Andrea Maffei, at 209 metres it is the second tallest building in Italy after the Unicredit Tower, also located in the Lombard capital.