Architect's Newspaper: Toyo Ito Presents “Architecture After 3.11” at SAIC

On October 16 the Architect's Newspaper highlighted the Butler-VanderLinden Lecture on Architecture delivered by 2013 Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito—co-organized by SAIC's Visiting Artists Program—and also covered Ito's participation in SAIC's Conversation on Beauty. His visit to campus was one of just two stops in the United States for the Tokyo-based architect. In his presentation, titled “Architecture After 3.11,” Ito reflected on the tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan in March of 2011 and the ways in which the devastation impacted his approach to design. Referencing his project “Home-for-All,” a series of communal spaces built for towns washed away by the storms, Ito outlined the failure of government recovery plans to inspire or comfort those they were supposed to assist. Asked how he bridges the gap between this post-disaster work and his typical practice, Ito explained he creates “architecture that is open to nature and harmonizes with people.” Components from Ito’s “Home-for-All” project are featured in the Sullivan Galleries exhibition News From Nowhere: Chicago Laboratory, open through December 21.