Atsushi Kitagawara (北川原 温, Kitagawara Atsushi, born 1951) is a Japanese architect.[1]
Biography
Atsushi Kitagawara was born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. While studying for a BA in architecture at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music he won first prize in the Japan Architect International Design Competition. He graduated in 1974 and proceeded to a master's degree at the same institution, participating in an urban design project while attending graduate school. He began working as an architect in 1975, and in 1982 founded his own firm Atsushi Kitagawara Architects, Inc. He was in 2005 appointed Professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Since beginning work in his twenties Kitagawara has undertaken architectural projects, urban planning, landscape design, furniture and stage design (including "One of a Kind" for Jiri Kylian, choreographer and artistic director of the Netherlands Dance Theatre). His concepts and methods draw on fields including poetry, music and contemporary arts. He has won a number of awards, including the Architectural Institute of Japan Award in 2002, the first prize in the Innovative Architecture International Award (Italy) in 2006, the Grand-Prix in the Kenneth Brown Architecture Design Award in 2007, the Murano Togo Prize, the AIA Japan Professional Honor Award in 2008, Top Prize of JIA Grand Prix in 2009, and the Japan Art Academy Prize in 2010.
As of 2008 he works extensively outside Japan, including from his atelier in Europe. He also teaches at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and practices along with associates at Atsushi Kitagawara Architects.
He is a protagonist of an artistically shaped and expressionistic architectural style, which celebrates the experience of space, without losing sight of the functional requirements. Through numerous award-winning projects, such as the Nakamura Keith Haring Museum, he is constantly exploring new means of construction, composition and usage of materials. He thereby creates complex spatial structures and façades, which challenge the conventional viewing patterns of the user, whilst never diminishing the human criteria.
Awards
First Prize of "The Japan Architect" International Design Competition, Yoshioka Award /1973
Canada Green Design Award /2002(Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
Building Contractors Society Award /2002 (Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
Architectural Institute of Japan Award /2002 (Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
Eco-Build Award /2002(Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award / 2003 (Kino-kuni Site Sight Information Pavilion)
Gold Medal, Arcasia Award /2003(Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
First Prize, Innovative Architecture International Award, Italy /2006 (Kaisho Forest View tube) (Kino-kuni Site Sight Information Pavilion)(Hida Beef Cattle Memorial Museum)
Special Prize, Public Architectural Award /2006(Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
Grand-Prix, Kenneth Brown Architecture Design Award / 2007(Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture)
