Junzo Sakakura
| Junzo Sakakura | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1901 Hashima, Gifu Prefecture |
| Died | 1969 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | Former president of the Architectural Association of Japan |
| Buildings | Kamakura Museum of Modern Art |
Junzo Sakakura (坂倉 準三 Sakakura Junzō, 1901–1969) was a Japanese architect and former president of the Architectural Association of Japan.
After graduating from university he worked in Le Corbusier's atelier in Paris. He rose to the position of studio chief during his seven-year stay in the studio.
He formed his own practice on his return to Japan becoming an important member of the modernist movement. In 1959, he collaborated with Le Corbusier on the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
Junzo Sakakura was born in Hashima-gun in Gifu Prefecture. In 1923 he entered the Art History Department of Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in 1927.
Almost coinciding with Kunio Maekawa's return from Paris, in 1930 Sakakura journeyed to France to enter Le Corbusier's Atelier. He had left Japan at an opportune moment as the economy was in recession with a spiralling increase in political violence.
At the behest of Le Corbusier, Sakakura enrolled on a course in architectural construction at college for six months before commencing his apprenticeship. On a daily basis Corbusier would arrive at the atelier and speak with the job architects about the projects. He would sit with the students and do sketches of his thoughts. As Sakakura became more trusted in the office he rose first to job architect and then chief of the studio. Students would come to him for advice when Corbusier was not about.
Ongoing projects in the office that may have influenced Sakakura later in his career include the Villa Savoye and the Swiss pavilion.
In 1936 Kishida Hideto (1899–1966) a Professor at Tokyo University was put in charge of organising a limited entry competition for the design of the Japanese Pavilion at the 1937 Paris Exposition. Although Kunio Maekawa's design was initially favoured it was eventually dismissed as being too modernist and Maeda Kenjiro's traditionalist design was chosen in its place. However, the French Government insisted that the design being completed with French materials and labour so this led to Sakakura receiving the commission as he had just returned to Japan (from Corbusier's office).
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