History Masterpiece Prize I feel very fortunate to have witnessed the transformation of Japan from war-devastation to the affluence of today. Although I consider myself to have been quite privileged, I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to work in such exciting projects. There are still many things I want to accomplish. I do not wish to repeat what I have done. I find that every project is a springboard to the next, always advancing forward from the past to the ever-changing future. That is my next challenge. Kenzo Tange was born in 1913 in Osaka and lived in Imabari, Ehime prefecture until junior high school. After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Department of Architecture, he worked for four years in the office of Kunio Maekawa, an important disciple of Le Corbusier. In 1942 he entered the University of Tokyo Graduate School and became an assistant professor from 1946. He established the Tange Laboratory where young associates such as ... Sachio Otani, Takashi Asada, Taneo Oki, Fumihiko Maki, Koji Kamiya, Arata Isozaki, and Kisho Kurokawa exchanged fruitful ideas. Teaching and actively exchanging ideas with people all over the world, Tange has instilled a vital force in Japan and abroad. His relationship with many scholars and artists has inspired his creative work throughout a career that spans half a century. Kenzo Tange in front of the National Gymnasium Complex in Yoyogi, Tokyo In front of the Master Plan Model for the National Gymnasium Complex in Yoyogi, Tokyo In front of the Model for the Librino New Town Project in Catania, Italy, 1971 Tange discussing the future city planning of Singapore with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, 1972 In 1949 Tange was selected as the winner for the design of the Peace Park and Peace Center of Hiroshima. In 1951, Tange presented his ideas about the Hiroshima core at the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM) in London. He had the pleasure of meeting historical figures such as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Jose Louis Sert and other great architects of the world.In the 1950's Tange was strongly influenced by Le Corbusier as well as by the Renaissance Master, Michelangelo. He was also greatly influenced by traditional Japanese architecture, expressed in concrete in the Kagawa Prefectural Office, 1958. From the 1960's, the urbanist prevailed over the architect. The buildings Tange continued to plan were part of a spatial context concerned with great metropolitan areas. Such ideas into the nature of the urban structure were at the core of the Tokyo Plan, 1960, expressing a change from mere functionalism toward structuralism. Studying the model for the Fiera District Center, Bologna, Italy, 1975 Interior of Kenzo Tange Associates With Mayor Chirac (currently President) in front of the Model for the Place D›htalie, Paris, France, 1984 With Crown Prince Akihito of Japan (currently Emperor) at a Japan Institute of Architects party A further development of the idea of structuralism, set a deepened interest in space as it relates to humanity and its spiritual aspects. In the pursuit of a junction between human and technological elements, Tange's proposal was accepted for the design of the Tokyo Cathedral of Saint Mary and twenty or thirty different models were designed for the National Gymnasium Complex for use in the 1964 Olympic Games.At the beginning of the 1970's with a theme of "Human Progress and Harmony," Tange undertook the architectural design for EXPO '70 and the Festival Plaza, completed in late 1966. Having designed the previous Tokyo City Hall in Marunouchi, Tange's design for the New Tokyo City Hall Complex was selected in 1986. His "Plan for Tokyo" was Tange's logical response to the nature of the urban structure that would permit growth and change. It received enormous attention world-wide for its new concepts of extending the growth of the city out over the bay, using bridges, man made islands, floating parking and megastructures. Symbolic of this period is the Fuji Television Bldg. in Odaiba, completed in 1996. With I.M. Pei at the site of the new Tokyo City Hall Complex With Lee Teng-hui (former Taiwan President) in Taiwan From the '70's into the early '80's, Tange's work flourished in cities in over 20 nations around the world. Representative of this era are the design of the OUB Center (1985) and UOB Plaza (1995), which with a height of 280 m defined a new skyline in Singapore. Around 1985, by the request of Mayor Chirac of Paris (currently President), Tange made a proposal for the master plan for the reorganization of Place d'Italie, a plaza of about 200 m in diameter (1991) south of the Seine, interconnecting the city of Paris from east to west. It restored order between the old and the new plaza and enlivened the eastern part of the city.