Arata Isozaki

Arata Isozaki is one of the most important and influential Japanese architects working today. Born in Oita, Japan, in 1931 he attended Tokyo University and later worked and studied under Kenzo Tange. In 1963, he opened his own practice and since then has realized a large number of buildings in Japan, Europe and the United States. Through his work, both as an architect and as a theorist, Isozaki has acted as a bridge between the East and the West, exporting Japanese architecture into the Western world and importing outside trends and movements into Japan. Arata Isozaki has conceived this book in collaboration with Ken Tadashi Oshima. It presents a unique, monographic tour through his architecture from the first visionary urban projects of the 1960s to his latest buildings, realized all over the world. The projects featured in the book have been carefully selected from Isozaki's vast portfolio. They are not presented in chronological order but are grouped in chapters titled and arranged in accordance with Isozaki's instructive categorizations of his own work. Each of the six chapters contains conceptual texts by Isozaki (many previously untranslated or unpublished); critical analysis by Oshima; a main case study project (extensively illustrated and explored); and a survey of related projects. Emulating one of Isozaki's central tenets that 'the city, architecture, and various social systems are nothing more than processes', there is an emphasis on process throughout the book — from conception, through construction, to use. We are introduced to projects through drawings and images of models, led through plans and ultimately presented with photographs of the final construction, as each is newly born and then matured in its existence and function.