Kenzō Tange
Early Life and Education
Kenzō Tange was born on September 4, 1913, in Sakai, Japan. He grew up in the city of Imabari, on the island of Shikoku. As a young man, he was not initially interested in architecture. It was only after seeing a picture of Le Corbusier’s Palace of the Soviets project in a foreign art journal that he decided to become an architect.
In 1935, he enrolled in the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo. He was a brilliant student, and his graduation thesis, a 17-hectare development plan for Hibiya Park in Tokyo, was highly acclaimed.
After graduating in 1938, he went to work for the modernist architect Kunio Maekawa, who had previously worked in the office of Le Corbusier in Paris. Tange’s time with Maekawa was brief, but it gave him a direct connection to the ideas of the European avant-garde.
He returned to the University of Tokyo for graduate studies in 1942, and in 1946, he was appointed as an assistant professor. He established the Tange Laboratory, which would become a major center for architectural research and a training ground for a new generation of Japanese architects, including Arata Isozaki, Kisho Kurokawa, and Fumihiko Maki.
Tange’s big break came in 1949, when he won the competition to design the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The project was of immense national and international significance, and it established Tange as the leading figure in post-war Japanese architecture.
Architectural Philosophy and Career
Kenzō Tange’s architectural philosophy was a powerful and dynamic synthesis of traditional Japanese aesthetics and modern technology. He was a key figure in the development of post-war modernism in Japan, and his work had a profound impact on the direction of global architecture in the second half of the 20th century.
His philosophy was rooted in a deep understanding of both the history of architecture and the challenges of the modern world. He was a master of creating buildings that were both monumental and humane, both timeless and of their time.
Tange’s career can be divided into two main phases. His early work, from the 1950s and 1960s, was a powerful and expressive form of modernism that was heavily influenced by Le Corbusier. His buildings from this period, such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Kagawa Prefectural Government Hall, are bold, sculptural forms of raw concrete that have a strong connection to traditional Japanese timber construction.
During this period, Tange was also a leading figure in the Metabolist movement, a group of young Japanese architects who were interested in creating a new, flexible, and technologically advanced form of urbanism. Tange’s “Plan for Tokyo 1960” was a visionary and highly influential proposal for a new city that would extend out over Tokyo Bay on a series of massive bridges and platforms.
In the second half of his career, from the 1970s onwards, Tange’s work became more international and more polished. He established a large and successful corporate practice, Kenzo Tange Associates, and he worked on major projects all over the world. His work from this period is characterized by its use of sophisticated technology, its sleek and elegant forms, and its use of reflective glass and metal. His design for the new Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is a key work from this period.
Tange was a master of large-scale urban design, and he believed that architecture should be a tool for creating a better and more rational urban environment. He was interested in the relationship between buildings and the city, and he was a pioneer in the use of “megastructures” to organize and give form to the modern city.
He was also a highly influential teacher and a mentor to a generation of Japanese architects. His Tange Laboratory at the University of Tokyo was a hotbed of architectural innovation, and his students would go on to become some of the most important architects of their generation.
Notable and Famous Works
Kenzō Tange’s portfolio includes some of the most iconic and influential buildings of the 20th century.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (1955) is his most famous and important work. The park is a powerful and moving memorial to the victims of the atomic bomb. The main building, the Peace Memorial Museum, is a long, low-slung building of raw concrete that is raised on pilotis, in a clear homage to Le Corbusier. The building’s simple, powerful form and its location on a vast, open plaza create a sense of timeless monumentality.
The Yoyogi National Gymnasium (1964) in Tokyo, which was built for the 1964 Olympic Games, is a masterpiece of structural engineering and design. The gymnasium consists of two separate arenas, each with a dramatic, suspended roof that is held up by a series of massive steel cables. The building’s flowing, organic forms are a powerful and elegant expression of modern technology.
The St. Mary’s Cathedral (1964) in Tokyo is a stunningly beautiful and original work of religious architecture. The cathedral is a complex, hyperbolic structure of stainless steel and concrete, with a plan that is in the shape of a cross. The building’s soaring, sculptural form is a powerful and modern interpretation of the traditional cathedral.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (1991) is a massive, 48-story skyscraper that is the headquarters of the Tokyo government. The building consists of two towers that are meant to evoke the image of a Gothic cathedral. The building’s complex, granite-clad facade and its observation decks have made it a major landmark on the Tokyo skyline.
The Fuji Television Building (1997) in Tokyo is one of his most futuristic and playful works. The building is a massive, elevated “megastructure” with a series of pedestrian walkways and a large, titanium-clad sphere that houses an observation deck and a restaurant.
Awards, Honors, and Legacy
Kenzō Tange was one of the most honored architects of his time. In 1987, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The jury citation praised him for his “beautiful and significant buildings” and for his “contribution to the world of architecture, in his role as an architect, a teacher, and an author.”
He also received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1965, the AIA Gold Medal in 1966, and the Praemium Imperiale in Architecture from the Japan Art Association in 1993.
Tange’s legacy is that of a true giant of 20th-century architecture. He was the most important and influential architect to have emerged from Japan in the post-war era, and he was one of the first Japanese architects to achieve true international stardom.
He was a master of creating a powerful and dynamic synthesis of tradition and modernity, and his work helped to define a new and uniquely Japanese form of modernism. He was a visionary urbanist who believed in the power of architecture to shape the future of our cities.
He was also a great teacher and a mentor, and his influence on a generation of Japanese architects is incalculable. He was a true master builder who created some of the most beautiful, powerful, and enduring works of architecture of his time. Kenzō Tange died on March 22, 2005.