TOYO ITO

BIOGRAPHY1941 Born in Seoul Metropolitan City

1965Graduated from The University of Tokyo, Department of ArchitectureWorked at Kiyonori Kikutake Architects and Associates

1971 Started his own studio, Urban Robot (URBOT) in Tokyo1979 Changed its name to Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

AWARDS AND PRIZES

1986 Architecture Institute of Japan awards for “Silver Hut”

1992 33rd Mainich Art Award for Yatsushiro Municipal Museum

1998 Ministry of Education Award for the Encouragement of Arts for “Dome in Odate”

1999 Japan Art Academy Prize for “Dome in Odate”

2000 Accorded the Title “Academician” from The International Academy of Architecture

2000 The Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from American Academy of Arts and Letters

2001 Grand Prize of Good Design Award 2001 from Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) for “Sendai Mediatheque”

2002 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 8th International Architecture Exhibition NEXT at the Venice Biennale

2003Architectural Institute of Japan Prize for “Sendai Mediatheque”

2004XX ADI Compasso d’Oro Award for “Ripples” (furniture design)

2006 Royal Gold Medal from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Public Building Award for “Sendai Mediatheque”

2008 ADI Compasso d’Oro Award for the Stand Horm 2005

6th Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts

PROJECTS1975 White U (house for his sister)1984 Silver Hut (Ito's own house, adjacent to White U)1991 Yatsushiro Municipal Museum1994 Old People's Home in Yatsushiro

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

2001 Sendai Mediatheque

2002Serpentine pavilion adjacent to the Serpentine Gallery, in Hyde Park, LondonBruges pavilion

2004 Matsumoto Performing Art Center, MatsumotoTOD's Omotesando Building, Tokyo

2006First Prize "Taichung Opera International Competition" in TaiwanVivoCity Singapore at HarbourFront

2008 World Games Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan2009 Suites Avenue Building, Barcelona, Spain

Water Fountain in PescaraPorta Fira Tower Barcelona, Spain

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE

Sendai Mediatheque

Image from: http://www.miyagitheme.jp/cd/main_data/area_db_e/ad_sendai/ad001_sendai/index.html

Concept Sketch by Toyo Ito

Image from: http://www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2001/blurringarchitecture.asp

- “From the time of competition and through the basic design process, our prime objective was to destroy conventional archetypes such as art museums or libraries; we carefully analyzed each program, eventually recomposing them to create a “mediatheque”.” – Toyo Ito1

- The aim of the proposal as selected was, in a sense, a simple prototypical building

- From its very first conception Toyo Ito pursued a structural system of : Tubes/Slabs/Skin

- The “mediateque,” composed of these three simple elements, will serve as a place to unify the primitive human body connected to nature with the body that is part of the fluid electronic world.

- The tubes serve as vertical circulation, passageways for ductwork and conduits, exhaust and air supply, and skylights to let light into lower levels.

1 Toyo Ito & Associates, Architect. Sendai Mediatheque. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.haveiendom.no/?module=Files;action=File.getFile;ID=414.

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

Conceptual diagram of tubular structure.

Image from: http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/1997VA/english/virtual/05.html

- Sendai Mediatheque is designed to create new concepts for life in modern cities, searching for an architecture appropriate to our electronic, image-oriented consumer society.

- To fuse the physical and virtual worlds:

o Unusual function and radical steel-tube structural system

o Floors which hang on penetrating conduiting masts

- A space where the laws of nature don't apply - abstract, conceptual, dreamlike

- The building expresses Ito's obsession with lightness, his desire to strip away anything that reminds us of gravity and support and his fascination with the facing of a building.

Negative details suggest the tubes pass through the plates without touching. The structure seems not to resist gravity but to neutralise it.

Images from: http://www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2001/blurringarchitecture.asp

- Toyo Ito’s understate façade treatment- the similarity between the Mediatheque's elevations and sections

- High Tech Expression - Satin sheen aluminum, cloudy translucence and crystalline reflectivity of glass and steel exposed steel structure

- Supporting the concept : architecture which appropriate to our increasingly electronic, image-oriented culture

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

SERPENTINE PAVILION

Serpentine Pavillion

Image from: http://www.0lll.com/lud/pages/architecture/archgallery/ito_serpentine/june21.htm

Roof detail.

Image form: http://humanthesis.blogspot.com/2008/02/blog-post.html

- Segmenting the cube with numerous overlapping lines, where a rotating square inscribed, on an abstract cube's top and side surfaces

- At those lines' intersections, Toyo Ito creates a space with geometry completely different from the conventional cube.

- Through the use of these lines alone, Toyo Ito was able to do away with the usual elements of a building such as columns, beams, walls, windows and doors, and give people the experience of a totally new sense of space.

- The numerous triangles and trapezoids formed by this system of intersecting lines were either transparent or translucent, giving a sense of infinitely repeated motion.

- The outside surface was smooth and flushes while on the inside the depth of the steel ribs was set by their structural load, adding a 3-dimensional layer to the internal space.

- The filtering effect of this 'hyper' skin created interesting patterns of light on the floor.

- By day the pavilion was a café, by night a venue for lectures, discussions, parties and films.

- It was also carefully built to the structural standards of a permanent building so that it could be taken down and rebuilt somewhere else.

- The abstract quality and the snow-white pavilion reflecting the green of the surrounding grass, made a beautiful contrast with the main gallery itself.

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

TOD’S OMETESANDO BUILDING

Front Elevation of TOD’s Building.

Image from: http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_Descript/2000-/2000-p_13/2-800.jpg

- Tod’s Omotesando Building is a slender, L-shaped building for the Italian footwear retailer, it contains offices and a boutique fronting Omotesando

- “The new Tod’s building in Tokyo is not only a symbol of Omotesando Avenue, but also a symbol of the brand. When I started working on this Project, I visited the Tod’s headquarters near Ancona and I realized that all the Tod’s products are handcrafted with great attention to the natural quality of the leathers. All the production steps strongly reflect the love of nature” - Toyo Ito2

- The facade of criss-crossed geometric forms concrete braces reinterprets the silhouettes of the elm trees lining the Omotesando Avenue .

- Nature Inspires the Tod’s Omotesando building through the use of materials such as stone, wood and leather

- Tod’s products are characterized by a strong combination of tradition and high quality.

- The idea of space, where physical and virtual worlds blend together, the authoritative and technologically sophisticated masterpieces projected by Ito are characterized, not only by magnificence but also by durability

- The façade is a smooth blend of concrete and glass

- The structural frame that supports the building is well concealed.

- Inside, opaque glass hides the rear view so that shoppers are drawn to the front of the store where they play an important role in animating the building.

2 Tod’s Group. The Tod’s Omotesando’s Building. Retrieved at March 20, 2010 from www. tods group.com/site/pdf_rassegna/TODS_ Omotesando .pdf

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

FACADE RENOVATION OF “SUITE AVENUE APARTMENT”

Façade of Suite Avenue Apartment

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsanchezcrespo/3380256192/

- Toyo Ito transformed a dull office building by creating a remarkable facade of undulating waves that he says was inspired by his love of the work of Antoni Gaudi.

- Suites Avenue’s new façade has a unique and avant-garde identity that meshes perfectly with Gaudi’s La Pedrera, just opposite.

View looking through Suite Avenue Apartment's façade toward Casa Milà .

Image from: http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_Descript/2005-/2005-p_16/2005-p_16_en.html

Suite Avenue Apartment

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsanchezcrespo/3380256192/

Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi

Image from: http://www.photos4travel.com/spain/barcelona/gaudi-pedrera.asp

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

Casa Milà (La Pedrera) by Antoni Gaudi

WORLD GAMES STADIUM, KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN

Kaoshiung World Game Stadium.

Image from: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/7016/toyo-ito-world-games-stadium-in-kaohsiung-taiwan-opens.html

Design

- The World Games Stadium differs from traditionally enclosed stadiums and embraces an open design that signifies a cordial welcome with a cheerful greeting

- The planning of the stadium is oriented with a north-south direction, with a slight northwest-southeast 15-degree angle

- The spiral conforms to the open “C” shape of the stadium which emulates the form of a flowing river

- This design allows shelter from the south-western summer winds and the north-western winter winds

- At the same time, such orientation shelters from sunlight, providing a more comfortable sports environment

- Clad in a band of interwoven white pipes, the structure resembles a python just beginning to coil around its prey, its tail tapering off to frame one side of an entry plaza.

- Unlike the Bird’s Nest it unfolds slowly to the visitor and is as much about connecting — physically and metaphorically — with the public spaces around it as it is about the intensity of a self-contained event.

- Surrounding the structure is public space in abundance with sports parks, bicycle paths and lush vegetation ensuring the Main Stadium will be regarded not as the novelty venue of a novelty sporting event, but a serious contender in event architecture.

- “At the moment when visitors are most in tune with the event about to take place the outside world momentarily creeps back in. The tops of a few mountains are visible just above the canopy. So is the plaza, and just beyond it a distant view of the downtown skyline. It is as if Mr. Ito wants to remind us, one last time, of other realities, to gently break down the sense that the world of the stadium is all there is. ” Quoted form Nicolai Ouroussoff in . 3

Profile of mountains around Kaoshiung World Game Stadium.

Image from: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/7016/toyo-ito-world-games-stadium-in-kaohsiung-taiwan-opens.html

Sustainable

3 Nicolai Ouroussoff. (July 15, 2009). Stadium Where Worlds Collide, Humanely . In The New York Times, p C1, July 16, 2009. July 16, 2009 New York: The New York Times. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/arts/design/16stadium.html?_r=3&scp=2&sq=taiwan&st=cse

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

- The 14,155 sq. meter roof contains 8,844 solar panels which generates 1 . 14 million kWh of electricity per year, reducing 660 tons of annual carbon dioxide output

- With approximately 3,300 lights, two giant television screens, and complete surround sound, the solar panels can provide up to 75% of the stadium’s energy needs

- When no competitions are taking place, the electricity generated is fed into the grid where it will meet almost 80% of the neighbouring area’s energy requirements

- All the raw materials used in the main stadium are 100% reusable and made in Taiwan

Solar Panel on the roof.

Image from: http://twistedsifter.com/2009/06/the-largest-solar-powered-stadium-in-the-world-kaohsiung-taiwan/

The electricity generated by solar panels is sufficient to feed the need of the stadium.

Image from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/ar...=taiwan&st=cse

Roof Detail.

Image from: http://forgemind.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=17465&start=15

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

PORTA FIRA TOWER, BARCELONA

Porta Fira Towers which consist of a hotel (PB+25) designed by Toyo Ito and an office (PB+22) designed by b720 Arquitectos.

Image from: http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/porta-fira-towers-by-toyo-ito-and-b720-arquitectos/

- Porta Fira Towers located between the airport and the city of Barcelona, the Porta Fira Towers intend to become the gateway to l’Hospitalet de Llobregat and the city of Barcelona.

- The project was finished in 2009 and are conceived as a landmark, one being the counterpart of the other

- The two towers perform a subtle dialogue between them.

- The hotel (PB+25), is designed to turn on itself changing its perception as it is surrounded.

o The hotel is contained in a distorted cylinder, expanding towards the top and clad in red metal panels and tubes.

o Its skin is made of a system of red metal tubes placed with a certain inclination.

- This perception is complemented by the second tower, which will house offices (PB+22).

o The office building is a rectangular volume with a glass curtain reflection of the hotel tower.

- Between the two towers, and connecting it, there is a common atrium.

- The buildings feature energy saving devises, a water recovery system waste and the use of solar energy.

- The uniqueness of the large architectural project proposed has as one of its priorities to respond to the environment and exploit its strategic position.

- Each building has a symbolic organic shape, which should bring to mind elements found in nature such as rivers and clouds

- Natural light, well-conceived interior illumination and an adequate, functional organization, accessible to the different areas of the grounds, all dominate this design.

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

PB + 22

PB + 25

Facade treatment of Porta Fira Tower (PB+25).

Image from: http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/porta-fira-towers-by-toyo-ito-and-b720-arquitectos/

Conceptual 3D model of Porta Fira Tower (PB+25).

Image from: http://www.archdaily.com/20501/in-progress-porta-fira-towers-in-plaza-europa-by-toyo-ito/

Deformation diagram .

Image from: http://www.archdaily.com/20501/in-progress-porta-fira-towers-in-plaza-europa-by-toyo-ito/

Section of Porta Fira Towers.

Image from: http://www.archdaily.com/20501/in-progress-porta-fira-towers-in-plaza-europa-by-toyo-ito/

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

CONCLUSION: DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES

- His works quest for "a dynamism that captures the momentary balance achieved during movement".

- “Up to the 1980s I favoured buildings featuring transparency and lightness. Buildings are generally thought of as solid and immutable but, in line with the emergence of the information society people, came to seek a sense of substance rather than the substance itself. I wanted to see if I could promote virtual buildings without that solid quality.

However, with the completion of the Sendai Médiathèque in 2000, my ideas about buildings changed considerably. 'Sendai' was built by welding an enormous amount of steel, and during that process I found myself attracted to the strength of steel and a sense of substance. If we think of people, this could refer to the attraction of their inner qualities, infused with life, exceeding their surface beauty. Since then I have been seeking a dynamism that captures the momentary balance achieved during movement in my works. This could be said to be groping for a contemporary organic space. ”

Quote from Toyo Ito in an interview with the Embassy of Japan in UK after Toyo Ito awarded RIBA Royal Gold Medal4

4 Embassy of Japan in the UK. Interview with Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 10, 2010

from http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/japanUK/exchange/060316_itointerview.html

- Fascinated by the immense possibilities opened up by computer technology, Mr Ito is driven by his mission to create new, organic buildings which explore their relationship with nature and the environment.

- Architects from the past whom were admired by Toyo Ito : Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe, and those with whom Toyo Ito have had direct contact or worked with, like Arata Isozaki and Kiyonori Kikutake.

- Current architects whom Toyo Ito appreciate: Rem Koolhaas' vision of architecture

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

REFERENCE

Biography and Projects

Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. Profile. Retrieved at March 6, 2010 from http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Profile/pf_en.html

Sendai Mediatheque

Mutsuro SasakiESasaki Structural Consultants. (2001). The Structure of Sendai �Mediatheque. Retrieved at March 6, 2010 from http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/1997VA/english/virtual/05.html

Andrew Barrie and Toyo Ito. (2001). Toyo Ito: Blurring Architecture. New Zealand: Art Space and Wellington: City Gallery. Retrieved at March 6, 2010 from http://www.artspace.org.nz/exhibitions/2001/blurringarchitecture.asp

Serpentine Gallery

RIBA. (2006). Royal Gold Metal 2006. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RoyalGoldMedal/RoyalGoldMedal2006/SerpentineGalleryPavillion.aspx

Embassy of Japan in the UK. Interview with Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/japanUK/exchange/060316_itointerview.html

Ludwich Abache. Serpentine Pavilion by Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.danda.be/reviews/serpentine_pavilion_by_toyo_ito/

Tod’s Omotesando Building

Tod’s Group. The Tod’s Omotesando’s Building. Retrieved at March 20, 2010 from www. tods group.com/site/pdf_rassegna/TODS_ Omotesando .pdf

Simon Glynn. (2009). Tod's Omotesando Building, Tokyo by Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/tods/index.html

Kieran Long. (March 2005). Tod’s Building. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2647

ArcSpace.com. (October 31, 2005). Toyo Ito & Associates- Tod’s Omotesando. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.arcspace.com/architects/ito/tod/tod.html

Toyo Ito. (2004) TOD’S Omotesando Building. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_Descript/2000-/2000-p_13/2000-p_13_en.html

Façade Renovation “Suite Avenue Apartment”, Barcelona

Rob Gregory. (September 2009). In the shadow of Gaudi, Toyo Ito's Barcelona hotel design stirs up controversy. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3575/is_1351_226/ai_n35637575/

Design Boom. Toyo ito designed a sea wave facade in Barcelona. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/5810/toyo-ito-designed-a-sea-wave-facade-in-barcelona.html

Dave. (March 27, 2009). The Suites Avenue Hotel Exterior by Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.contemporist.com/2009/03/27/the-suites-avenue-hotel-exterior-by-toyo-ito/

World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Alex Pasternack . (June 7, 2009). The Greenest, Coolest Stadium: Toyo Ito On His Sun-Powered Stun. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/worlds-greenest-most-elegant-stadium-taiwan-toyo-ito.php

Design Boom. Toyo Ito: world games stadium in kaohsiung taiwan opens. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/7016/toyo-ito-world-games-stadium-in-kaohsiung-taiwan-opens.html

Niki May Young. (Wednesday 29 Jul 2009). Main Stadium World Games 2009, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=12084

Nicolai Ouroussoff. (July 15, 2009). Stadium Where Worlds Collide, Humanely . In The New York Times, p C1, July 16, 2009. July 16, 2009 New York: The New York Times. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/arts/design/16stadium.html?_r=3&scp=2&sq=taiwan&st=cse

Porta Fira Tower, Barcelona

Rose Etherington. (March 3, 2010). Porta Fira Towers by Toyo Ito and b720 Arquitectos. Dezeen. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/porta-fira-towers-by-toyo-ito-and-b720-arquitectos/

 Ethel Baraona Pohl. (April 29, 2009) In progress: Porta Fira towers in Plaza Europa by Toyo Ito. Retrieved at March 10, 2010 from http://www.archdaily.com/20501/in-progress-porta-fira-towers-in-plaza-europa-by-toyo-ito/

Design Philosophies

Design Boom. (October 27st, 2001). Interview with Toyo Ito at the basilica palladiana in vicenza, Italy. Retrieved at March 13, 2010 from http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/ito.html

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA