Toyo Ito Awarded 2013 Pritzker Prize!

Japanese architect <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/toyo-ito/">Toyo Ito</a> has been named the 37th recipient of the prestigious <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2012-pritzker-prize-awarded-to-wang-shu-first-chinese-architect-to-win-the-award/" target="_blank">Pritzker Prize</a>. The 71-year-old's works, described by the jury as "timeless buildings" that express "optimism, lightness and joy" have made waves throughout the world for their distinct pairings of organic form and technological innovation. Ito's <a href="http://www.sentabi.jp/en/tourist/sendaimediatheque.html">Sendai Mediatheque</a>, which survived the devastating magnitude -9.0 earthquake in 2011, is now a striking example of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/disaster-proof-design">seismically-resistant architecture</a>, while his <a href="http://inhabitat.com/taiwan%E2%80%99s-solar-stadium-100-powered-by-the-sun/">dragon-shaped stadium in Taiwan</a> was notable not only for it's unusual form, but also for being entirely solar-powered. Over the course of his career Ito has, with his gorgeous buildings "push[ed] the boundaries of architecture," unafraid to let "go what he has accomplished before," according to juror Yung Ho Chang.

Ito began his career working for Kiyonori Kikutake, one of the founders of the Japanese Metabolist movement.

Among Ito's many notable works is this <a href="http://inhabitat.com/taiwan%E2%80%99s-solar-stadium-100-powered-by-the-sun/">dragon-shaped</a> 50,000 seat stadium in Taiwan, which is powered by 8,844 photovoltaic panels.

Designed in 2002, Ito's Sendai Mediatheque survived the 2011 earthquake that devastated much of the region.

He went to create his own architectural office in 1971.

[gallery_extend]....<br><br><a href='https://inhabitat.com/toyo-ito-awarded-2013-pritzker-prize/'>READ ARTICLE</a>

The Pritzker jury commented: "Toyo Ito is a creator of timeless buildings, who at the same time boldly charts new paths."

He has been working on several earthquake resistant and relief projects throughout Japan.

Ito is now working with a group of Tokyo architects to develop community centers for the victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the northeast of the country.

"His architecture projects an air of optimism, lightness and joy, and is infused with both a sense of uniqueness and universality, " stated the jury.

Toyo Ito designed private houses like the U House in Tokyo and White O in Chile, both dominated by flowing forms and a particular sensibility for the private lives of urban dwellers.

Toyo Ito’s works have been marked by the synergy between organic-like structures and technology on one side and poetics and minimalist design on the other.

The U House is dominated by flowing forms and a particular sensibility for the private.

Ito creates intricate relationships between the rooms, interior and exterior, the building and its surroundings.