Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been awarded this very month of March with the coveted Pritzker Prize. And just as we did with Balkrishna Doshi, 2018 laureate, also on this occasion we want to tell you about this architecture prize that pays tribute to authors who make buildings that are not only beautiful but also make human beings richer.
Isozaki, award for a whole career
In Isozaki’s case, this is quite evident in his own conception of architecture. A genius of construction and urbanism who at 87 years of age can take long stock of his legacy. Perhaps his greatest asset has been his versatility and his ability to soak up the forms and traditions of the places he visited and where he was to design his projects.
Portrait of Arata Isozaki today.
A character who, as he says, grew up seeing how a country, Japan, was being built after World War II. That context undoubtedly influenced his vision of architecture and urbanism as something alive and current. That is what he demonstrated in one of his first major projects in Osaka. The futuristic city par excellence in the 1970s, in whose appearance Isozaki was actively involved.
Works spread all over the world
From then on, more projects would come and many of them outside his country. Over the decades he has worked on all continents. Of course in other Asian countries, such as China, where in recent times all the great architects of the world have been working. But also in America where he built his charismatic Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. In Australia with his Arch Building for Bond University on the Gold Coast. Or in Africa with his work for the Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.
Daimler Benz AG building on Berlin’s Potsdammer Platz, a summary of fin-de-siècle architecture
And he has certainly left his mark on a number of European projects. For example, he was involved in the design of the Daimler Benz AG building on Berlin’s Potsdammer Platz, an urban space on whose renovation in the 1990s the greatest architects of the time worked. Or he created his country’s image in Krakow with the Japanese Art and Technology Center in Krakow, Poland.
But if there is one place in Europe where he has left countless works and proposals, this is undoubtedly Spain. A country where even Isozaki has had an office of associates for decades to develop this type of proposals.
Isozaki’s legacy in Barcelona
The company Arata Isozaki y Asociados España S.A. was created to carry out its first major project in Spain. It was 1984 and it had to build one of the most paradigmatic buildings for the future 1992 Olympic Games.
Palau Sant Jordi, a Barcelona landmark
A construction that serves to evoke another basic approach to Isozaki’s art. An architect who is also an engineer, and as such he conceives his work not so much with an end result in mind, but with a way of building. That is why in this case it is surprising how the impressive roof of the pavilion was prefabricated and was placed in its final location by means of gigantic cranes.
After the Palau Sant Jordi de la Montjuïc, he designed the Palafolls Pavilion in Barcelona, the Parc de la Muntanyeta in Sant Boi and the access to the Caixa Forum in Barcelona, among many other works.
Isozaki’s legacy in Spain
But the works of this Japanese architect can be seen elsewhere in Spain. And in fact, some of his creations have become emblems of the renovation of several Spanish cities.
The Isozaki Towers by the Bilbao estuary
For example it is inconceivable the modernity of Bilbao without the Isozaki Towers. Or the “Domus” or House of Man in A Coruña alone has been able to attract visitors to this beautiful Galician city. In these works and others scattered around Burgos, Santiago de Compostela or Madrid, the great worth of this architect can be seen. Cable to summarize in himself a large part of the history of contemporary architecture from the most varied corners of the planet. For this capacity for synthesis and adaptation to each space where he works, he has been awarded the 2019 Pritzker Prize.
