TOYO ITO

BIOGRAPHY
1941 Born in Seoul Metropolitan City
Graduated from The University of Tokyo, Department of
1965
Architecture
  Worked at Kiyonori Kikutake Architects and Associates
1971 Started his own studio, Urban Robot (URBOT) in Tokyo
1979 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 1975 White U (house for his sister)

1986 Architecture Institute of Japan awards for “Silver Hut” 1984 Silver Hut (Ito's own house, adjacent to White U)

1992 33rd Mainich Art Award for Yatsushiro Municipal Museum 1991 Yatsushiro Municipal Museum
1998 Ministry of Education Award for the Encouragement of
1994 Old People's Home in Yatsushiro
Arts for “Dome in Odate”
1999 Japan Art Academy Prize for “Dome in Odate” 2001 Sendai Mediatheque
2000 Accorded the Title “Academician” from The International Serpentine pavilion adjacent to the Serpentine Gallery, in
2002
Academy of Architecture Hyde Park, London
2000 The Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in
  Bruges pavilion
Architecture from American Academy of Arts and Letters
2001 Grand Prize of Good Design Award 2001 from Japan
2004 Matsumoto Performing Art Center, Matsumoto
Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) for
“Sendai Mediatheque”
TOD's Omotesando Building, Tokyo
2002 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 8th
International Architecture Exhibition NEXT at the Venice First Prize "Taichung Opera International Competition" in
Biennale 2006
Taiwan
Architectural Institute of Japan Prize for “Sendai
2003 VivoCity Singapore at HarbourFront
Mediatheque”
XX ADI Compasso d’Oro Award for “Ripples” (furniture
2004 2008 World Games Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
design)
2006 Royal Gold Medal from The Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) 2009 Suites Avenue Building, Barcelona, Spain

  Public Building Award for “Sendai Mediatheque” Water Fountain in Pescara

2008 ADI Compasso d’Oro Award for the Stand Horm 2005 Porta Fira Tower Barcelona, Spain

6th Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and

  the Arts

PROJECTS

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)

SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE

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.
Sendai Mediatheque
Image from:
http://www.miyagitheme.jp/cd/main_data/area_db_e/ad_sendai/ad001_sendai/index.h 1
tml 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
- The tubes serve as vertical circulation, passageways for Images from:
ductwork and conduits, exhaust and air supply, and skylights to http://www.artspace.org.nz/exhi
let light into lower levels. bitions/2001/blurringarchitectur
e.asp

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:
- 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

o Unusual function and radical steel-tube structural system - Supporting the concept : architecture which appropriate to our
increasingly electronic, image-oriented culture
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.

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)

SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
SERPENTINE PAVILION 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
Serpentine Pavillion sense of infinitely repeated motion.

Image from: - The outside surface was smooth and flushes while on the inside
http://www.0lll.com/lud/pages/architecture/archgallery/ito_serpentine/june21.htm
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.
Roof detail.

CHAN SHIE WAH (BEA080005)

SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
TOD’S OMETESANDO BUILDING - 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

Front Elevation of TOD’s Building. drawn to the front of the store where they play an important role
in animating the building.
Image from: http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_Descript/2000-/2000-p_13/2-
800.jpg

2
Tod’s Group. The Tod’s Omotesando’s Building. Retrieved at March 20, 2010 from
www.todsgroup.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 - Toyo Ito transformed a dull office building by creating a
remarkable facade of undulating waves that he says was
APARTMENT” 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

Casa Milà (La Pedrera)

Suite Avenue Apartment
Façade of Suite Avenue Apartment Image from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsan
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsanchezcrespo/3380256192/ chezcrespo/3380256192/
by Antoni Gaudi
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
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
SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
- 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.co
m/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)
- 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 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

Solar Panel on the roof.

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

PB + 25 - 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.
PB + 22
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

Porta Fira Towers which consist of a hotel (PB+25) designed by system waste and the use of solar energy.
Toyo Ito and an office (PB+22) designed by b720 Arquitectos.
- The uniqueness of the large architectural project proposed has
Image from: http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/porta-fira-towers-by-toyo-ito-and- as one of its priorities to respond to the environment and
b720-arquitectos/ 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
Facade treatment of Porta Fira Tower (PB+25).
Deformation diagram .
Image from: http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/porta-fira-towers-by-toyo-ito-and- Image from: http://www.archdaily.com/20501/in-progress-porta-fira-towers-in-plaza-
b720-arquitectos/ europa-by-toyo-ito/

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

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

europa-by-toyo-ito/ 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.
- 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.

However, with the completion of the Sendai Médiathèque in - Current architects whom Toyo Ito appreciate:
2000, my ideas about buildings changed considerably. 'Sendai' Rem Koolhaas' vision of architecture
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

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 SasakiESasaki 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/Serpentin
eGalleryPavillion.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.todsgroup.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/
SEM 2, 2009/2010, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF BUIIT ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
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)