He is survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren.

–ALEXANDRA C. BELL

Kenzo Tange, Architect, Lecturer

Kenzo Tange, the face of 20th-century Japanese architecture, rebuilder of the city of Hiroshima after it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and one-time Harvard lecturer, died on March 22 of heart failure at his home in Tokyo. He was 91.

Tange, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1987, lectured at Harvard in 1972 in the Graduate School of Design (GSD) and also received an honorary doctorate from the University.

He was best known for his bold merging of Japanese and Western aesthetic values and innovatively creative forms. Prime examples of these principles are his internationally-renowned twin stadiums for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and St. Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo. The redesign and reconstruction of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing which devastated it in 1945 was his first professional commission, and is still among his most lauded work.

Tange also attracted worldwide attention for his ambitious—and ultimately unfulfilled—plan for the development of Tokyo. He was commissioned to design for many foreign countries as well, among them Singapore, Kuwait, Italy, Australia and the U.S.

Eduard Sekler, Professor of Architecture Emeritus at GSD, who met Tange at the last meeting of the International Congress for Modern Architecture in 1959 and had remained friends with him ever since, commended Tange’s achievements.

“I consider Kenzo Tange one of the greatest architects in the second half of the twentieth century,” he said. “He has certainly been a trail-blazing figure for Japanese architecture.”

Tange was born in Osaka, Japan, and did not originally intend to become an architect, but rather showed an interest in astronomy. However, once he was exposed to the designs of Le Corbusier as a youth, there was no turning back.

He moved seamlessly from student to professor and then professor emeritus of architecture at Tokyo University and was greatly involved in teaching and lecturing his whole life.

“He educated a whole generation and became a model for them,” said Sekler. “There was always Kenzo Tange to measure themselves against.”

Tange also received the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1965, the medal of honor of the Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and the gold medal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1966, among others. He was also an honorary Fellow of the AIA.

He is survived by his second wife, Takako Iwata, and their architect son, Noritaka.

–ALEXANDRA C. BELL