Toyo Ito
Olivari Designers
Seoul, 1941
Although he is born in Korea, Ito is Japanese and graduates in architecture in Tokyo in 1965. After his debut in the Metabolist movement at the head of the Urban Robot studio, he opens the Toyo Ito & Associates firm in 1979.
In the mid 1980s, Ito begins to work on a design method that combines physical reality with virtual reality, such as the Tower of Winds in Yokohama (1986) with a lighted sheath that can change color based on the weather.
— Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, Japan 2004
— Tama Art University Library (Hachioji campus), Tokyo (J), 2007
His Sendai Mediatheque (2001) is one of the most influential buildings on architecture in the 21st century. He teaches at the Japan Women’s University, is professor emeritus at the Northern University of London, and visiting professor at Columbia.
