, born 1945

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China is a Japanese

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. In 2024, he received the

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

, considered to be the most prestigious award in architecture, becoming the 9th Japanese architect to receive such honor.

Early life and education

Yamamoto was born to Japanese parents in Beijing, China. His parents had moved from Japan to China for his father's work as an engineer. In 1947, the family returned to a Japan devastated by World War II. In 1949, after his father's death when he was four, Yamamoto moved to his mother's hometown of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. In 1967 he completed his bachelor's degree from

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

and in 1971 his master's degree from the Tokyo University of the Arts. Afterwards he continued his studies at the University of Tokyo under Hiroshi Hara.

Career

Yamamoto founded the Yamamoto & Field Shop Co.Ltd in 1973. From 2000 to 2011 he was a professor at Yokohama National University and at the Graduate school of Engineering of the Nihon University. As of 2015 he taught at his alma mater Nihon University. Some of his most representative works are the Rotunda Building (Yokohama, 1981); the Hamlet Building (Tokio, Shibuya-Ku, 1988), or the apartment blocks Ryukoentoshi (Yokohama, 1992).

Recognition

Under the many awards Riken Yamamoto has won, the most recent achieved by him are: The Japan Institute of Architects Award for the Yokosuka Museum of Art (2010) Building Contractors Society Prize for the Namics Techno Core (2010), Building Contractors Society Prize for the Yokosuka Museum of Art (2008) or the 25th Fukushima Architecture Culture Award, highest award for the Fukushima ecoms Pavilion, SUS Fukushima Factory (2007). In 2024, Yamamoto was awarded the

. On the occasion, architect and Jury Chair

Alejandro Aravena Alejandro Gastón Aravena Mori (born 22 June 1967) is a Chilean architect and executive director of the firm Elemental S.A. He won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2016, and was the director and curator of the Architecture Section of the 201 ...

stated about Yamamoto's work that "''one of the things we need most in the future of cities is to create conditions through architecture that multiply the opportunities for people to come together and interact. By carefully blurring the boundary between public and private, Yamamoto contributes positively beyond the brief to enable community. He is a reassuring architect who brings dignity to everyday life. Normality becomes extraordinary. Calmness leads to splendor.''"

Selected works

* 2005: Future University Hakodate Research Building,

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

; SUSTRG Office Project,

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

* 2007:

Yokosuka Museum of Art opened in , Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, in 2007. The collection, numbering some 5,000 pieces, includes works by Fujishima Takeji and Nakamura Tsune. See also * Kannonzaki Lighthouse Kannonzaki Lighthouse (観音埼灯台) is a lig ...

, Kanagawa Prefecture * 2008: Namics Techno Core, Niigata; Guan Yuan Housing, Beijing; Dragon Lily's House, Gunma * 2009: Utsunomiya University Center for Optics Research Tochigi * 2012: Tianjin Library * 2018: The Circle at

Zürich Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's larg ...

Image:Hirosima Nishi Fire Station01.jpg, Hiroshima West Fire Department Image:Future University-Hakodate.JPG, Future University Hakodate Image:Yokosuka Museum of Art 2009.jpg, Yokosuka Museum of Art Image:Fussa_City_Hall.jpg, Fussa City Hall

References

External links

*
Riken Yamamoto Official Website

Riken Yamamoto l'hospitalier
Le Journal des Arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Riken Japanese architects Educators from Beijing Nihon University alumni Academic staff of Nihon University 1945 births Living people Academic staff of Yokohama National University Pritzker Architecture Prize winners