Arata Isozaki

(Ōita, Japan, 1931)

An architect, his intimate poetics is based on the transience of buildings, which is why he plays with volumes that generate a visual illusion intended for contemplation. A struggle between beauty and finitude captured in its extensive architectural heritage. In the 1960s he was part of the Metabolismo collective of Japanese architects under the direction of Kenzo Tange. Isozaki's first projects combine elements of Japanese tradition with the most modern structures made with advanced technology. It was from 1970 when the architect began to replace traditional elements with postmodernist elements, towards geometric shapes. Isozaki seems to dedicate himself to the intuitive search for spatial meanings, turning structure into an instrument capable of combining reality with illusion. Isozaki has designed buildings all over the world, from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (1986), or the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts building, to other museums in Nice and Cairo, in addition to the sports palace in Sant Jordi for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It has also received various international awards from the most prestigious institutions, including the Association of Architects of Japan, the British RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architechts), the Italian Accademia Tiberina and the American Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy. . In 2019 he was awarded the 2019 Pritzker Prize, one of the most important recognitions in the world of architecture.

The sketches and drawings of his architectural project Unbuilt have been exhibited at Medialab Mad. They represent the cyberarchitecture that, thanks to its organic structure and its connection with technology, anticipates the form of virtual information societies, which today have become an everyday occurrence through the Internet and mobile telephony. UNBUILT drawings are daring visions of urban worlds that, despite being subjected to permanent and unlimited transformation, remain flexible without self-destructing.