Biography
Architect, educator and writer Kazuo Shinohara formed what is now widely known as the Shinohara School. Inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, he directed his attention to the relationship between single-family houses and the scope and conception of cities. He established his own practice in 1954, designing more than 30 residential buildings as well as many key public buildings across Japan.
Early in his career, Shinohara focused on private residential projects, including House in Yokohama (1982–1984); House in Uehara, Tokyo (1975–1976); House in White, Tokyo (1964–1966) and House in Kugayama, Tokyo (1952–1954). Shinohara also designed several public buildings, including the Kumamoto North Police Station (1990); Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto (1982); and Centennial Hall, Tokyo Institute of Technology (1987), where he was a professor (1970–1986).
Among a lot of his one-man shows are two circulating exhibitions, the first presented in Paris, Aachen, Lausanne, Zurich and Palma (1979–1980) and the second in New Haven, Montreal, Manitoba and Cambridge in the United States and Canada (1981–1983). He also participated in a joint exhibition with Setsu Asakura titled A pair of full-scale houses in the department store, Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo (1964).
He was awarded the Golden Lion in memoriam at the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2010); the Grand Prize of AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan) (2005); and the Japanese Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts (1989).
Shinohara studied and briefly taught mathematics but was soon admitted into an undergraduate programme in the department of architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, from which he received a Bachelor of Engineering and a Doctor of Engineering (1953 and 1967, respectively).
Born in 1925 in the Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, Shinohara was working for his own atelier in Yokohama until he passed away in 2006.
SAF participation:
Sharjapan 3 – Remain Calm: Tranquility, Solitude and Connectivity in Japanese Architecture (2021)
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Sharjapan 3–Remain Calm: Solitude and Connectivity in Japanese Architecture
Reflecting on the intimate role architecture plays in our lives, Remain Calm explores the work of notable Japanese architects and an artist who use traditional concepts to create physical spaces with both modern and contemporary resonance.
Book your tickets to this exhibition here.