Venue: Multi-function Hall, 1/F, Shenzhen Civic Center
Time:Dec 6th 14:00-15:30

Mr. Ito was born in 1941. After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture in 1965,  he worked for the Metabolist architect Kiyonori Kikutake until 1969. In 1971 he opened his own office, Urban Robot (URBOT), which was renamed to Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects in 1979. He has taught at the University of Tokyo as a visiting lecturer (1988~89), at Columbia University (1991) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (1999) as a visiting professor, at Kyoto University as a visiting lecturer (2002~07) and at Tama Art University as a guest professor (2002~). He also has been a commissioner of the Kumamoto Artpolis since 2005.

Main projects
White U (1976), Silver Hut – house of the architect (1984), Tower of Winds (1986), Yatsushiro Municipal Museum (1991), Shimosuwa Municipal Museum (1993), Nagaoka Lyric Hall (1996), Dome in Odate (1997), T Hall in Taisha (1999), Sendai Mediatheque (2001), Brugge Pavilion (2002), Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2002 (2002, London), Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre (2004), TOD’S Omotesando Building (2004), Island City Central Park GRIN GRIN (2005), MIKIMOTO Ginza 2 (2005), Meiso no Mori Municipal Funeral Hall (2006), Hopital Cognacq-Jay (2006, Paris), VivoCity (2006, Singapore), Tama Art University Library (Hachioji campus) (2007), The Main Stadium for 2009 World Games (2009, Taiwan R.O.C.), “ZA-KOENJI Public Theatre” (2009), etc.

Under development

Taichung Metropolitan Opera House (Taiwan R.O.C.), National Taiwan University, New College of Social Sciences (Taiwan R.O.C.), Extension for “ The Fair of Barcelona Gran Via Venue” (Spain), Relaxation Park in Torrevieja (Spain), University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (U.S.A.), etc.

Awards and Prizes

Architectural Institute of Japan Prize (1986, for Silver Hut), 33rd Mainichi Arts Award (1992, for Yatsushiro Municipal Museum), Ministry of Education Award for the Encouragement of Arts (1998, for Dome in Odate), Japan Art Academy Prize (1999, for Dome in Odate), 2000 The Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from American Academy of Arts and Letters (2000), Grand Prize of Good Design Award 2001 from Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (2001, for Sendai Mediatheque), Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the 8th International Architecture Exhibition “NEXT” at the Venice Biennale (2002), XX ADI Compasso d’Oro Award (2004, for wooden bench, “Ripples”), Royal Gold Medal from The Royal Institute of British Architects (2006), ADI Compasso d’Oro Award (2008, for “Stand Horm” for Milan Salone 2005), 6th Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts, etc.

Publications

Transfiguration of Winds (1989, Seidosha), Architecture in a Simulated City (1992, INAX), Blurring Architecture (2000, Seidosha), Michi no Ie (2006, Index Communications), 10 Adventures in Architectural World (2006, Shokokusha), TOYO ITO (2009, Phaidon Press Limited), etc.