George Matsumoto (July 16, 1922 – June 28, 2016) was a

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

architect and educator who is known for his

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

designs.

Early life and education

George Matsumoto was born in 1922 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California. He grew up in San Francisco's Nihonmachi

Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...

, attended Lowell High School, and took Japanese classes at

Kinmon Gakuen The Kinmon Gakuen (金門学園) or Golden Gate Institute is a Japanese language school in San Francisco, California, located at 2031 Bush Street. It was established in 1911 with 133 students. They currently offer programs to children from kinderg ...

. Matsumoto attended the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

in architecture, but due to his internment at Poston during World War II (along with other Japanese Americans), he completed his undergraduate education at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. He earned his graduate degree from

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of C ...

in Michigan, studying under

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen. Lif ...

Career

Completing his graduate studies in 1945, Matsumoto joined the firm of

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John Merrill. The fir ...

in Chicago and in 1946, joined the firm of Saarinen and Swanson. While with Saarinen and Swanson, he, along with Terry Waugh and David Greer, won the "Better Chicago Contest" with a cash prize of $10,000. Their winning entry was a comprehensive regional plan for the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and h ...

. Following a year of private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, Matsumoto joined the department of architecture at the University of Oklahoma as an instructor. A year later, he moved with the head of the school of architecture, Henry L. Kamphoefner, to the new School of Design at North Carolina State University. Kamphoefner was appointed as the first dean of the School of Design and he brought with him several students and faculty from the University of Oklahoma. During his tenure at the School of Design Matsumoto won over thirty awards for his housing designs and his achievements were published internationally. Some of his most well-known and acclaimed designs in North Carolina include the George Poland House in Raleigh, N.C., the Matsumoto Residence, also in Raleigh, N.C., the E.M. Lipman Residence in Richmond, V.A., the Milton Julian Residence in Chapel Hill, N.C., the J. Gregory Poole Resident in Raleigh, N.C., which he designed with G. Milton Small, Jr., the Ritcher House in Raleigh, N.C., which he designed with Kamphoefner, and the E.K. Thrower Residence in Sedgefield (Greensboro), N.C. He also designed and built the home of Kirkwood Floyd Adams Sr., later Mayor of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., and his wife Sarah Chaney Adams located on White Ave. Mrs. Adams later recalled that Matsumoto was "a skilled professional, yet so human. He treated all the people associated with the house with respect and they loved him." Matsumoto's houses are notable for their simplicity, rigor and residential interpretation of the International Style. After leaving the School of Design in 1961, Matsumoto returned to California to teach at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and later opened a successful practice that did work in commercial, educational and recreational work, as well as campus and community planning. He was elected a fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

in 1973. Matsumoto modernist houses share common characteristics, including; a flat roof, an unobstructed internal view from one end of the house to the other, terrazzo floors, natural woods for walls and ceilings, mahogany cabinetry, large windows in the rear, and small but functional kitchens.

Death and legacy

Matsumoto died on June 28, 2016 at age 93. He was proceeded in death by his wife of 53 years, Kimi Nao (1923–2005). Together they had five children, Mari, Kiyo, Kei, Kenneth and Miye Matsumoto. Since 2016, a nonprofit organization named North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) has an annual Matsumoto Prize, in honor of George Matsumoto.

References

External links

US Modernist Houses - George MatsumotoGuide to the George Matsumoto Papers, 1945-1991Guide to the Architectural Models of Buildings Designed by George Matsumoto circa 1997Guide to the David Hill Oral History Interviews with George Matsumoto 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, George UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design alumni Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni University of Oklahoma faculty Architects from San Francisco 1922 births 2016 deaths Japanese-American internees American people of Japanese descent Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty Modernist architects from the United States Washington University in St. Louis alumni