The first major exhibition in Tokyo dedicated to Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange is opening later this month. Renowned for combining traditional Japanese and modernist forms in his designs, the exhibition features a retrospective of the first half of the influential architect’s career.

The exhibition titled, TANGE KENZO 1938-1970: From Pre-war period to Olympic Games and World Expo, is presented by the National Archives of Modern Architecture (NAMA), Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, in cooperation with Tange Associates, Uchida Michiko, Tokyo Metropolitan Parks Association, Japan Arts Council, World Monuments Fund (WMF), American Express, DOCOMOMO Japan, and The Museum of Art, Kochi. 

As Tokyo hosts the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the exhibition commemorates Tange’s leading role in realizing the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the Osaka World Expo in 1970. 

The showcase explores the first half of Tange’s career, compiling three years' worth of research that has yielded a selection of archival, architectural materials associated with his iconic projects, such as Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Kagawa Prefectural Government Building, and Yoyogi National Gymnasium, as well as never-before-seen studies of his private residence. 180 drawings, sketches, models, structural calculations, photographs, videos, lecture notes, notebooks, letters, and publications are on display. 

TANGE KENZO 1938-1970: From Pre-war period to Olympic Games and World Expo is on view from July 21 through October 10. NAMA has also launched a virtual version of the exhibition, which can be seen here.