Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the renowned Japanese architect who was one of the founders of the Metabolist movement and who designed world landmarks such as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, the New Wing of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and the Singapore Flyer in Singapore?
He was born in Kanie, Aichi in 1934 and studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating in 1957.
He then attended the University of Tokyo under the supervision of Kenzo Tange, and received a master’s degree in 1959.
With colleagues, he cofounded the Metabolist Movement in 1960, whose members were known as Metabolists. It was a radical avante-garde movement pursuing the merging and recycling of architectural styles within an Asian context. The movement was very successful peaking when its members received praise for the Takara Cotillion Beautillion at the Osaka World Expo in 1970.
He founded his own architectural firm in 1972 and went on to build numerous world famous landmarks with offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Astana, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, and Los Angeles.
Among these are the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, which was included as one of 100 distinctive modern architectures in Japan, the Sony Tower in Osaka, the Headquarters of the Japanese Red Cross in Tokyo, the Nagoya City Art Museum, Central Plaza 1 in Brisbane, the Japanese German Center in Berlin, and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art.
In the 1990s, his works included Melbourne Central in Melbourne, the Nouvain La Neuve Museum in Belgium, Pacific Tower in Paris, Lane Crawford Place in Singapore, and the New Wing of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
His later works included the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which won the Dedalo Minosse International Prize in 2003-2004, and received a certification for a sustainable airport, Green Globe 21 in the United Nations in 2003.
Although he had practiced the concept of sustainable and eco-minded architecture for four decades, he became more adamant about environmental protection in his latter years. He founded the Green Party to help provide environmental protection.
He died of heart failure at the age of 73.
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Last week’s question: Who is the English-Middle Eastern chef who is known for exploring the gastronomical possibilities of Brazilian ingredients in his DOM restaurants?
Answer: Chef Alex Atala
Winner: Clarissa P. Gamoso of Bacood, Sta. Mesa
