Junzo Sakakura
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese architect
and former president of the Architectural Association of Japan.
After graduating from university he worked in Le Corbusier's
atelier in Paris. He rose to the position of studio chief during his seven year stay in the studio.
He formed his own practice on his return to Japan becoming an important member of the modernist movement. In 1959, he collaborated with Le Corbusier on the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
in Gifu Prefecture. In 1923 he entered the Art History Department of Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in 1927.
's return from Paris, in 1930 Sakakura journeyed to France to enter Le Corbusier's Atelier. He had left Japan at an opportune moment as the economy was in recession with a spiralling increase in political violence.
At the behest of Le Corbusier, Sakakura enrolled on a course in architectural construction at college for six months before commencing his apprenticeship. On a daily basis Corbusier would arrive at the atelier and speak with the job architects about the projects. He would sit with the students and do sketches of his thoughts. As Sakakura became more trusted in the office he rose first to job architect and then chief of the studio. Students would come to him for advice when Corbusier was not about.
Ongoing projects in the office that may have influenced Sakakura later in his career include the Villa Savoye
and the Swiss pavilion.
. Although Kunio Maekawa
's design was initially favoured it was eventually dismissed as being too modernist and Maeda Kenjiro's traditionalist design was chosen in its place. However, the French Government insisted that the design being completed with French materials and labour so this led to Sakakura receiving the commission as he had just returned to Japan (from Corbusier's office).
Sakakura returned to France to supervise the project but unexpected site conditions forced him to change the design and he sought Le Corbusier's advice on this. The building comprised a grey walled box on a black piloti
with a free formed plan and ramped access and was voted the "Grand Prix" of the Exposition.
Coming from a literary background, Sakakura was in some ways hindered by the technological aspects of his aspirations. Although he locked himself away in a Parisian hotel to complete the work on the pavilion later in life he favoured the style of Corbusier's office, entrusting his plans to other architects in the practice.
Sakakura won a limited entry competition for the design of the Museum of Modern Art in the grounds of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura. The building comprises a second storey white box containing the gallery spaces supported on thin steel red and green piloti. The ground floor storey that faces onto the lake is built with Oya Stone
.
The International House of Japan, Tokyo, 1955
Sakakura collaborated with his friend Kunio Maekawa and Junzō Yoshimura
on this cultural exchange building in Roppongi, Tokyo. It is primarily constructed of in-situ reinforced concrete, with the public areas of the building faced with Oya Stone. The building went on to win the annual design award from Nihon Kenchiku Gakkai.
National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1959
Le Corbusier's only building in Japan is the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo. Le Corbusier's three Japanese apprentices: Kunio Maekawa
, Junzo Sakakura and Takamasa Yoshizaka
were responsible for executing the plans and supervising the construction. The principle of using so-called local architects to implement his designs was so successful here that Le Corbusier insisted it should be done for the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
in Harvard.
West Plaza of Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, 1967
One of the grandest urban design projects he undertook, this is a two storey urban plaza incorporating the bus terminal. Two huge ramps at the centre allow taxi access from ground level down to Shinjuku Station's west exit.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and former president of the Architectural Association of Japan.
After graduating from university he worked in Le Corbusier's
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
atelier in Paris. He rose to the position of studio chief during his seven year stay in the studio.
He formed his own practice on his return to Japan becoming an important member of the modernist movement. In 1959, he collaborated with Le Corbusier on the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
Early life and formative years
Junzo Sakakura was born in Hashima-gunHashima, Gifu
is a city located in the Gifu Prefecture of central Japan.Hashima covers a total area of 87.77 km². As of July 2011 the city has an estimated population of 67,041 inhabitants.The city was founded on 1 April 1954.-External links:*...
in Gifu Prefecture. In 1923 he entered the Art History Department of Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in 1927.
Le Corbusier's Atelier
Almost coinciding with Kunio MaekawaKunio Maekawa
was a Japanese architect.-Formative years:He entered First Tokyo Middle School in 1918, and then Tokyo Imperial University in 1925. After graduation in 1928, he travelled to France to apprentice with Le Corbusier. In 1930 he returned to Japan and worked with Antonin Raymond, and in 1935 established...
's return from Paris, in 1930 Sakakura journeyed to France to enter Le Corbusier's Atelier. He had left Japan at an opportune moment as the economy was in recession with a spiralling increase in political violence.
At the behest of Le Corbusier, Sakakura enrolled on a course in architectural construction at college for six months before commencing his apprenticeship. On a daily basis Corbusier would arrive at the atelier and speak with the job architects about the projects. He would sit with the students and do sketches of his thoughts. As Sakakura became more trusted in the office he rose first to job architect and then chief of the studio. Students would come to him for advice when Corbusier was not about.
Ongoing projects in the office that may have influenced Sakakura later in his career include the Villa Savoye
Villa Savoye
Villa Savoye is a modernist villa in Poissy, in the outskirts of Paris, France. It was designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and built between 1928 and 1931....
and the Swiss pavilion.
Paris Exposition, 1937
In 1936 Kishida Hideto (1899–1966) a Professor at Tokyo University was put in charge of organising a limited entry competition for the design of the Japanese Pavilion at the 1937 Paris ExpositionExposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)
The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne was held from May 25 to November 25, 1937 in Paris, France...
. Although Kunio Maekawa
Kunio Maekawa
was a Japanese architect.-Formative years:He entered First Tokyo Middle School in 1918, and then Tokyo Imperial University in 1925. After graduation in 1928, he travelled to France to apprentice with Le Corbusier. In 1930 he returned to Japan and worked with Antonin Raymond, and in 1935 established...
's design was initially favoured it was eventually dismissed as being too modernist and Maeda Kenjiro's traditionalist design was chosen in its place. However, the French Government insisted that the design being completed with French materials and labour so this led to Sakakura receiving the commission as he had just returned to Japan (from Corbusier's office).
Sakakura returned to France to supervise the project but unexpected site conditions forced him to change the design and he sought Le Corbusier's advice on this. The building comprised a grey walled box on a black piloti
Piloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood and in elevated houses such as Old Queenslanders in Australia's...
with a free formed plan and ramped access and was voted the "Grand Prix" of the Exposition.
Coming from a literary background, Sakakura was in some ways hindered by the technological aspects of his aspirations. Although he locked himself away in a Parisian hotel to complete the work on the pavilion later in life he favoured the style of Corbusier's office, entrusting his plans to other architects in the practice.
Notable buildings
The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, 1951Sakakura won a limited entry competition for the design of the Museum of Modern Art in the grounds of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura. The building comprises a second storey white box containing the gallery spaces supported on thin steel red and green piloti. The ground floor storey that faces onto the lake is built with Oya Stone
Oya stone
is a igneous rock, created from lava and ash. Ōya stone was famously used in the facing of Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. One reason this stone was used is because it has a warm texture and is easily carved, which allows much versatility...
.
The International House of Japan, Tokyo, 1955
Sakakura collaborated with his friend Kunio Maekawa and Junzō Yoshimura
Junzo Yoshimura
was a Japanese architect.- Early career:In December 1928, whilst a student at Tokyo's Fine Arts College, Yoshimura began part-time work at Antonin Raymond's office, becoming full time after he graduated in 1931...
on this cultural exchange building in Roppongi, Tokyo. It is primarily constructed of in-situ reinforced concrete, with the public areas of the building faced with Oya Stone. The building went on to win the annual design award from Nihon Kenchiku Gakkai.
National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1959
Kunio Maekawa
was a Japanese architect.-Formative years:He entered First Tokyo Middle School in 1918, and then Tokyo Imperial University in 1925. After graduation in 1928, he travelled to France to apprentice with Le Corbusier. In 1930 he returned to Japan and worked with Antonin Raymond, and in 1935 established...
, Junzo Sakakura and Takamasa Yoshizaka
Takamasa Yoshizaka
, family name also romanized as Yosizaka, was a Japanese architect and former president of the Architectural Institute of Japan and a keen mountaineer....
were responsible for executing the plans and supervising the construction. The principle of using so-called local architects to implement his designs was so successful here that Le Corbusier insisted it should be done for the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only building actually built by Le Corbusier in the United States, and one of only two in the Americas...
in Harvard.
West Plaza of Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, 1967
One of the grandest urban design projects he undertook, this is a two storey urban plaza incorporating the bus terminal. Two huge ramps at the centre allow taxi access from ground level down to Shinjuku Station's west exit.
Legacy
Japanese Design Magazine Casa Brutus named him one of Japan's Modern Masters in a recent special issue. The Kamakura Museum of Modern Art hosted a retrospective of Sakakura's work from May to September 2009.
"Within the course of the Modern Architectural Movement, if Sakakura does not rank with the towering figures of Mies, Wright, and Le Corbusier, he is certainly on a par with such men as Finland's Alvar Aalto..."
Hamaguchi Ryuichi, December 1969 "In Grief - Over the Loss of Junzo Sakakura" Japan Architect
Selected projects
- 1937 Japanese Pavilion at the Paris Expo
- 1951 Kamakura Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura
- 1955 International House of Japan, Tokyo
- 1959 HashimaHashimaHashima may refer to:*Hashima, Gifu , city in Gifu Prefecture, Japan** The Hashima meteorite of circa 1910, which landed in Hashima City *Hashima District, Gifu , a nearby district in Gifu Prefecture, Japan...
City Hall, Gifu - 1959 Silk Centre, Yokohama
- 1962 Kure City Hall and Municipal Auditorium, KureKureKure can refer to:*KURE, a radio station in Ames, Iowa*Kure Software Koubou, Japanese video game development company*Kure, Hiroshima , a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan**Kure Line, a rail line in the city...
- 1964 Hiraoka City Hall, Hiraoka
- 1966 West Plaza of Shinjuku StationShinjuku Stationis a train station located in Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan.Serving as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central Tokyo and its western suburbs on inter-city rail, commuter rail and metro lines, the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007,...
and Underground Parking Lot, Tokyo