Itsuko Hasegawa

is a Japanese architect. She established her own architectural practice in 1976, now known as Itsuko Hasegawa Atelier, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. She has described her architectural approach through the concept of "second nature", linking architecture with landscape and the ways of life of local communities.

Biography

Itsuko Hasegawa was born in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1941. She studied at the Department of Architecture at Kanto Gakuin University, graduating in 1964. From then until 1969, she worked with Kiyonori Kikutake and then spent two years studying at Tokyo Institute of Technology. From 1971 to 1978 she worked under Kazuo Shinohara at the institute. She has lectured in Rotterdam, Australia, Norway and Los Angeles between 1984 and 1987. She became the principal of her own design studio in Tokyo, called Itsuko Hasegawa Architectural Design Studio in 1976, which was renamed the Architectural Design Studio in 1979.

In 1987, Hasegawa won first prize in a competition to design the Shonandai Cultural Centre. Initially, the design was not popular among the local residents, who were concerned on how the building would be buried below ground level. However, Hasegawa had many discussions with the residents, and when the opening phase of construction began in late 1989, the building was met with unanimous approval.

In 2004, Hasegawa designed a new building for Shizuoka Tasei High School, her former school. She later designed a new junior high school building for the same school, completed in 2013.

Hasegawa is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and has received the Avon Arts Award, the Building Contractor's Society Prize for the Shonandai Cultural Center, the Cultural Award for Residential Architecture (Fukuoka, Japan), and a Design Prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan.

Selected buildings

Tokumaru children's clinic, Ehime (1979) Namekawa Housing, Ibaraki (1998) Shizuoka Tasei High School, Shizuoka (2004) Suzu Performing Arts Center, Ishikawa (2006) Court Decor Yonnosaka, Tokyo (2008) Fujinokumi Senbonmatsu Forum, Numazu (2013) Shizuoka Airport Deck, Shizuoka (2013) Shanghai Caohejing Office Project, Shanghai, China (2014)

Selected awards Design Prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan for the Bizan Hall (1986) Japan Cultural Design Award for residential projects Elected as an Honorary Fellows of RIBA Japan Art Academy Award (2000) Honorary Degree Award from University College London Elected as an Honorary Fellow of AIA

Selected writings

Itsuko Hasegawa, Academy Editions, 1993. . Itsuko Hasegawa, with Stephen Dobney, Images Pub. Group, 1997. . Island Hopping – Crossover Architecture, NAi Publishers, 2000. .