Kenzo Tange's career began with a rather daunting task: the rebuilding of Hiroshima after World War II. His country had seen the greatest single destruction of the twentieth century with the dropping of the atomic bomb. Tange seized upon this tragic event, transforming it into one of his greatest creative achievements. The Hiroshima Peace Park and Center enlivened Japan, expressing solidarity with humanity while symbolizing a commitment to peace. The work established Tange as one of the major architectural voices emerging from the post-war rubble.
Unable to ignore that artistic juggernaut known as Modernism, Japanese architecture began incorporating Western aesthetics into its native design. Tange pushed this idea further -- he did not simply replicate European and American styles, but infused a Japanese stylistic philosophy with a Modernist agenda.
The twin gymnasia for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games best epitomize this idea. The form is ultimately modern, only hinting at its traditional elements. The structure itself combines two semi-circles, slightly displaced, with their unconnected ends elongating to points. Two
concrete pillars seem to offer the roof's only support. However, upon closer inspection, an elaborate system of steel cables holds the structure up. The sweeping lines of the roof are also environmentally smart, built to withstand the hurricane-type winds characteristic of the region.
Tange pushed his philosophy even further by suggesting alternatives to Tokyo's chaotic city plan. He boldly proposed the expansion of Tokyo into the bay to create more efficient highways and transportation routes. Idealistic in nature, this plan moved Tange close to a new generation of architects called the Metabolists. Their overall philosophy pointed to the organic growth of cities -- they claimed that cities are born, grow, and decay just as a tree might. The city planning board never adopted his plan, but it has exerted a major influence upon the city's subsequent growth to this day.
The later phase of his work addresses the development of the information society. He is weary of the new communications culture, contending that face-to-face interaction could very well disappear. The prolific writer and philosopher has stated, "The more that indirect communication progresses, the more frequent direct communication becomes necessary." Keeping this idea in mind, Tange further insists, "Architecture must have a human heart." While utilizing many new developments in technology, his designs attempt to create a space for true human communication.
Lately Tange has also turned more to the organic nature of existence, constructing buildings with parts that can be subtracted or added from the original structure. Constantly reinventing himself, he has received almost every prize and honor, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1987.
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