was a prominent Japanese architectural historian who also established a reputation abroad. For most of his career Suzuki was Professor of the History of Architecture at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

(1974-2009), and for a period was also Chairman of Tokyo University's Graduate School of Architecture. Later in life he joined the faculty of the School of Cultural and Creative Studies at Aoyama University. He was the author of over a dozen books and countless articles in Japanese, but was best known to English readers as the co-author (with

Reyner Banham Peter Reyner Banham Hon. FRIBA (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: Th ...

and Kobayashi Katsuhiro) of ''Contemporary Architecture of Japan, 1958-1984'' (New York: Rizzoli, 1985) and ''Shuhei Endo: Paramodern Architecture'' (Phaidon Press, 2006), among others. His Japanese-language scholarship ranged from research on such prominent Meiji-period figures as Josiah Conder and

Itō Chūta was a Japanese architect, architectural historian, and critic. He is recognized as the leading architect and architectural theorist of early 20th-century Imperial Japan. Biography Second son of a doctor in Yonezawa, present-day Yamagata Prefectu ...

(伊東忠太), to many works on contemporary Tokyo, a city to which he was strongly attached. He was among the first architectural historians inside or outside Japan to focus on Meiji and Taisho-period architects and architecture, and argue for continuities between this and the later post-war period when Japanese 'modern' architecture became globally influential. Suzuki was a strong proponent of preserving "modern", and not just "traditional" Japanese architecture, and did not shy from wading into development controversies. As chairman of the Japanese branch of the Paris-based conservation group

Docomomo International Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

, he oversaw drafting of a list of 135 "modern" Japanese structures worthy of protection. He was a prominent member of the Architectural Consortium that in 2012 received the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

/ Knoll Modernism Prize for saving and restoring the Hizuchi Elementary School in Shikoku, designed by Masatsune Matsumura in the late 1950

He also consulted on the restoration of

Tokyo Station Tokyo Station ( ja, 東京駅, ) is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace grounds. The newer Eastern extension is ...

.Obituary, ''Mainichi Shinbun'', Feb. 6, 2014 For twelve years (1996-2008) Suzuki was one of three members of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts at the Coordinating Committee of Angkor (ICC), advising the Cambodian government on the preservation of Angkor Wat

Among many honors, Suzuki was a recipient of Japan's

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

(褒章 hōshō) with Purple Ribbon for his service to scholarship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Hiroyuki Japanese architectural historians University of Tokyo alumni Academic staff of the University of Tokyo 1945 births 2014 deaths