Kenzo Tange

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Kenzo Tange (丹下健三, Tange Kenzō; September 4, 1913 - March 22, 2005) was a Japanese architect, and winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and designed major buildings on five continents.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo

In 1913 Tange was born in Sakai, Osaka. In 1935 Tange entered the Architecture Department of the University of Tokyo, and became an assistant professor there in 1946.

In 1949 he won the competition to re-design Hiroshima, following its atomic bombing in 1945. His design for the Peace Park and Peace Memorial owes much to Le Corbusier, and is often called ‘the spiritual core of the city’. One reason Tange gave for applying for the job was that as a secondary student he had studied in the city.

Tange won international fame for his design for the gymnasium for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His Pritzker Prize citation described it as "among the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century".

He was also known for his ‘Tokyo Plan’ of 1960, which proposed a radical redesign of the city. Although not fully implemented, it influenced architects worldwide.

In 2005, his funeral was held in one of his works, Tokyo Cathedral.

Selected projects

The Fuji TV headquarters in Odaiba is known for its eccentric architecture.

Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya

• 2005: Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School, Singapore
• 2000: Tokyo Dome Hotel
• 1998: WKC Centre For Health Development, Kobe, Hyogo
• 1996: Fuji Television Building, Odaiba, Tokyo
• 1991: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku
• 1986: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• 1979: Hanae Mori Building Aoyama, Tokyo
• 1970: Site of Expo '70, Suita, Osaka
• 1964: Yoyogi National Gymnasium for the 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo
• 1964: St. Mary's Cathedral (Tokyo Cathedral) (Roman Catholic), Tokyo
• 1958: Kagawa Prefectural Government Building, Takamatsu, Kagawa
• 1957: (Former)Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Yurakucho
• 1955: Peace Memorial Park of Hiroshima

External links

• [Official website]
• [Profile of Tokyo Metropolitan Buildings]

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