During World War II, American firebombing reduced some 40% of Japan's total urban area to rubble. From this horrifying destruction came a historic burst of reconstruction. It was an extraordinary opportunity for a young, enterprising architect to apply his vision to a newly blank slate, to define the literal shape of postwar Japan. His name was Kenzo Tange.
Born in 1913 to a poor family in Osaka and educated at the University of Tokyo, Tange's first major commission was the Peace Memorial Park at Hiroshima's ground zero in 1949. His concrete museum, cenotaph and gigantic public square managed...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
