Arata Isozaki was just awarded the 2019 Pritzker Prize at the age of 87. Isozaki once famously said that "the most important thing an artist can do is confront society with something it has never seen before, something in a sense improper." As a full life of work lies behind the Japanese architect, we can witness the shifts and patterns of his multi-decade career as it has been committed to the level of unfamiliarity and newness that Isozaki has long sought to imbue in his work.

1. Ōita Prefectural Library, Ōita, Japan, 1962-66

As a young architect, Isozaki was influenced by the then-popular style of Brutalist architecture, and he applied it when given the opportunity to design the library in his hometown of Ōita on the island of Kyushu. Far away from Tokyo, he did not consider himself a member of the Metabolist movement due to its utilitarian motives. 

2. Tsukuba Center Building, Ibaraki, Japan, 1979-83

Tsukuba Center Building may not appear significant in his larger body of work, but it reflects the first major shift in his work from a hard-edged, rough-hewn modernism to a playful and contemplative postmodernism. The large broken pediment at the top of the building foreshadows a similar, more famous move made by Philip Johnson for the AT&T building in Manhattan three years later.

3. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California, 1981-1986

As his first international commission, Isozaki made bold moves in his design for the Museum of Contemporary Art in the storied Bunker Hill neighborhood. Given the steep slope of the site, Isozaki chose to dig down rather than build up, producing a cavernous gallery space with only a thick-columned structure facing the street.

4. ArtTower Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, 1986-90 

Art Tower Mito was commissioned to celebrate the centennial of the municipality of Mito. Inspired by sculptors including Brancusi and Isamu Noguchi, Art Tower MIto is a staggering 300 feet tall and made up of 56 triangular panels.

5. Qatar National Convention Center, Doha, Qatar, 2004-2011

As another project outside of the architect's native Japan, the Qatar National Convention Center is made iconic by a large tree-like structure that defines and holds up the facade. Beyond the employment of significantly challenging structural design, the Convention Center is also significant as one of the first projects of Isozaki to achieve exemplary levels of sustainability in a desert climate.