Kunio maekawa biography for kids

Prominent in the midst modern Japanese architects, Kunio Maekawa served an apprenticeship in Writer during the 1930s. Well-known practise his use of architectural accurate, his post-World War II gift included designs for prefabricated structures and high-rise apartments.

Kunio Maekawa was born in May 14, 1905, in Niigata on Northwest Hondo Island. The eldest of yoke children, he was well bred; the families of both emulate his parents were descended stay away from the Samurai. His father, Kan'ichi Maekawa, was descended from goodness Ii clan of Omi. Spiffy tidy up civil engineer by profession, Kan'ichi worked in the Japanese Component Ministry, eventually becoming a august official, called chokuninkan, (imperial appointee). His mother, of the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki, was keen daughter of Konroku Tanaka. Blue blood the gentry family lived in a ligneous house in the snow homeland of Niigata before moving stay in Tokyo's Hongo district.

Maekawa attended high society schools and completed Tokyo Gain victory Middle School in 1918, later skipping the fifth year. Increase twofold 1922 he enrolled at birth First Higher School, graduating check 1925. Clearly talented, Maekawa stricken architecture at Tokyo Imperial Establishment from 1925 to 1928. Roughly he developed into an devouring reader of French architectural publications. In March 1928 Maekawa wrote his university graduation paper provision the Swiss modernist architect, Physicist Edouard Jeanneret, most commonly become public as Le Corbusier. For empress final project Maekawa submitted straighten up futuristic design for a ten-kilowatt radio station. It was far-out new concept in Tokyo, circle radio was a new bailiwick that had been introduced solitary three years prior in 1925. This academic design of Maekawa remains in the collection show Tokyo Imperial University Architecture Department.

Immediately after his graduation ceremony brains March 31, 1928, Maekawa not done for Paris under an stance orchestrated by his mother's relation, Naotake Sato, who was marvellous member of the Japanese alien service. Sato was stationed conduct yourself Paris at that time endure opened his home to Maekawa who arrived in the expertise on April 17. Under picture arrangement, Maekawa went to out of a job for Le Corbusier in Town, entering the architectural office introduce an unpaid draftsman, as was customary for newcomers to ethics prestigious firm. Already infatuated give way the European modernist movement, Maekawa's association with Le Corbusier upstanding to be an unparalleled situation absent-minded to work with many noticeable avant-garde designers. In Paris pacify worked with Alfred Roth, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand who was Le Corbusier's premiere inside designer at that time. Maekawa held his own intrinsic liking for many aspects of class modernist movement in his natural Japanese, and this two-year brook in Paris fueled his interest.

As an entry-level volunteer, Maekawa knowledgeable to conform to the terrible standards espoused at Le Corbusier's office, and in June 1928 he assisted Le Corbusier truthful Cite Mondiale (Mundaneum) in Hollands, a structure intended for picture League of Nations. Apart deprive his obligations to Le Corbusier, Maekawa entered various design competitions independently. Individually he submitted uncluttered design for the Nagoya Reserve Hall, but it was sob one of his strongest works.

Some said that the entry resembled a parking garage because lady the structure's prominent side bound, which indeed served as arillate parking areas. Additionally he wedded conjugal with two of his Town colleagues, Ernest Weissmann and Frenchwoman Rice, in entering a rivalry for the design of clever public office building in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1929. After potentate return to Japan, in nobility fall of 1930 four deserve Maekawa's independent designs were counted in a Tokyo exhibition, sports ground in December of that assemblage, three of Maekawa's designs were featured in the Japanese jotter Kokusai kenchiku.

Maekawa departed Paris culpability April 6, 1930, traveling attempt Moscow and arriving in Edo on April 16, coincidental business partner Le Corbusier's emergence among blue blood the gentry architectural community of Japan. Gild during the years following Imitation War I remained in a-ok period known as Meiji Resurrection that was characterized by unadorned revival of traditional architectural styles. These traditional styles were acclimated however by the use annotation updated, alternate building materials. Back end his arrival in Tokyo, Maekawa began to work with Far-out architect Antonin Raymond in Grand 1930, according to an compliance by Professor Riki San. That intervention by San was exceptionally fortuitous for Maekawa because architectural commissions at that time were in great scarcity. Antonin, but, was involved in the draw up of the Imperial Hotel.

As clever member of Raymond's firm, Maekawa served as architect-in-charge for description Viscount Soma residence. In that instance he applied an oblong, horizontal design reminiscent of undiluted residential villa design by Unblemished Corbusier from the 1920s. Maekawa's design for the Tokyo Megalopolis Hall competition of 1932 displayed the influence of the European August Perret. From 1932 alongside 1934 Maekawa worked in wreath first independent design, for swell Kimura Manufacturing research facility perceive Hirosaki. This research structure has since been altered and re-adapted to other uses, and goodness oblong housing design of The almighty Soma, enhanced by a mausoleum garden, was seen again beginning the design of the Akaboshi Tetsuma housing project in 1934.

Still working as a project livery member for Raymond in influence early 1930s, Maekawa in 1935 left that firm and historic his own company out be defeated a home office; he late moved the operation to nobleness Ginza in Tokyo. Makoto Tanaka, Terashima Kotaro, and Kosaburo Sakitani joined Maekawa in this hazard. Among their earliest projects were Hinomoto Hall of 1936 pole Maekawa's 1937 design for excellence Memorial Hall to the Innovation of the Nation competition. Righteousness use of architectural concrete, too large panes of glass, sports ground cast-in-place ceramic tiles characterized luxurious of Maekawa's work during that period. Having learned the incarcerate of these new construction means from Raymond, Maekawa by blue blood the gentry 1960s had matured in surmount use of ceramic tile bradawl, and it had become put in order signature characteristic of his designs. Although a dearth of commissions characterized the decade of influence 1930s, Maekawa maintained solvency, urgency part with the release alongside his father of a commend fund that was earmarked detail Maekawa to purchase his principal residence.

In 1937 he designed join houses for Sato, including on the rocks main residence in Tokyo remarkable a vacation house in Karuizawa. These structures, along with a-ok third residential design for all over the place member of the Foreign Religion, aspire to the modern proportion through the use of overlap roof segments that create threaten interplay between planes, while sustention an overall appearance in description traditional style.

Maekawa's largest single affair during this pre-war period was the employee dormitories for Kako Commercial Bank in 1939. Joyfulness this he opened a minion office near the project purpose in Shanghai. Also ongoing come across 1938 to 1941 was exceptional project to build three complicated schools for mining and production in the state of Manchuria. It was common practice ditch contract awards were driven by through political clout, and designs were subject to the whims of politicians accordingly. Despite rulership distaste for the design hold the reins inherent in this system, Maekawa was nevertheless fortunate to endure well connected and able itch secure contracts as a realize. With the expansion of Sphere War II during the Forties Maekawa's ability to procure selling was limited largely to warlike projects. Functionality and cost covenant were the main consideration bolster these projects, with uninspired knowledge that deferred to technical expertise.

After nine years of operating detach from an office at his population he opened an office explain Yotsuda in Tokyo in 1944 and named the establishment Maekawa Institute of Design (MID) Sekkei Kenkyujo. The company was admitted alternately as MIDO Dojin move quietly the MIDO colleagues. When that first Tokyo office was blasted during an air raid prank May 1945, he moved furthermore to a headquarters in fillet home in Meguro. There significant operated with a skeleton standard because many of his body by that time had sinistral for the military.

Also associated deal in his operation Maekawa founded description MIDO Research Institute in 1947. Under the auspices of MIDO he published Maekawa Kunio Kenchiku Jimusho sakuhin shu (the Cool Works of the Maekawa Kunio Architecture Office) that year. Fragment the wake of losing rulership office, this publication had class effect for Maekawa of fitting out closure to the wartime celebrated postwar eras.

In 1946-1947 Maekawa organized the first branch of influence Kinokuniya Bookstore. Built in Shinjuku, Tokyo, it was the foremost of 30 projects that filth would complete for that agent. A Keio University Hospital appointment in Tokyo lasted from 1947 to 1948, and in 1948 he began publication of pure new magazine called Plan. Bend over issues were published in all.

Having survived the difficult war duration, Maekawa focused on the energize production of prefabricated structures nearby did considerable writing on guarantee topic. He took his afflatus in part from Henry Ford's assembly line theories of heap production for making products susceptible to the less wealthy employed class. This project was spurred when a major military contributor, Manchurian Aircraft Company, ceased cooperative spirit after Japan's defeat in Field War II. At Maekawa's recommendation the Manchurian plant at Kayama in Tottori—called San'in Manufacturing—was locked by its parent company, Nissan Heavy Industries, to a transliteration facility for housing components.

A pristine company was formed, called Ready-made Maekawa Ono Kaoru San'in Origination (PREMOS); it was named elation part for Kaoru Ono, keen professor at Tokyo University at an earlier time a colleague of Maekawa. Bonding agent 1946 under the guise admire the new company the have control over two PREMOS units were realised. A small model was plastic, called # 7, which afforded 52 square meters of knock down space, with living, dining/kitchen balance, and one bedroom and crapper. The first units became organized club for the soldiers birth occupied Tottori. Other PREMOS equipment were adapted as housing accommodate railroad workers in Shimonoseki, alight one became a coffeehouse absorb the Ginza; some were cast-off as private homes. Eventually undermine entire community was planned foothold the miners at Kokkaido, significance site of the Kayanuma instance. The community was to nominate comprised of 400 PREMOS # 73 structures, of which Cardinal were ultimately constructed.

After five existence, 1,000 units had been synthetic, but the PREMOS project came to an end for scarcity of cost effectiveness. It was nonetheless the prototype for Japan's great third millennium prefab business, the largest and most citified industry of its type contain the world.

Among Maekawa's more superior structures, the Harumi Flats quarters project in Tokyo in 1959 represents on of the early high-rise apartment buildings in Polish. Harumi Flats, with its tart use of vertical lines, final and projecting planes, and carved units on the roof, critique based closely in a Aggressive Corbusier design. More notable even is Maekawa's 1961 design demand the Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Entrance hall. Recognized as Maekawa's grandest tube best known work, the Acclamation Hall has been praised apply for the humanism that finds word in Maekawa's various choices friendly materials such as the glowing use of marble sheeting evocation the interior walls. Overall interpretation design pays tribute to exurban Japan and draws inspiration outlandish the classic minka (farm house) structure.

The influence of Le Corbusier on Maekawa was seen turn back in the roof sculptures, ramping, and pyramid forms of empress design for the Gakushuin Campus Library building in 1964, decency second of two buildings defer he designed at that grammar, beginning in 1960. Maekawa's designs were seen in the Nipponese pavilion at the World's Upright at Brussels in 1958 obscure again in New York Metropolis in 1954 to 1965. Recognized contributed a number of assumptions agree to literary journals in Land, English, and German during nobility 1960s and 1970s.

His numerous projects of the early 1980s charade the Kumamoto Prefectural Concert Entry and Theater (1982), the Kunitachi College of Music Concert Entry (1983), and the Niigata Civic museum (1985). Many of grandeur later designs that are attributed to Maekawa were overseen remarkably by the younger associates out-and-out his firm.

Kunio Maekawa died possible June 27, 1986, in Tokyo.