Nature Within: In Conversation with Toyo Ito

Learn more about Toyo Ito’s practice from the architect himself, with this special talk event held in conjunction with the exhibition Nature Within: The Architecture of Toyo Ito. Taking place at UNSW, this talk event will focus on the works featured in the exhibition, along with Ito’s design philosophy.

Having established his practice in 1971, Ito has since engaged primarily in the design of public architecture. Much of the public architecture built in Japan has been influenced by modernist ideology promoted in the West during the 20th century, with spaces divided according to their functions. It remains fixated on an architecture overly concerned with function and performance alone.

However, Ito has always aspired to create architecture that is open and embracing, evoking the feeling of being outdoors even when indoors. By freeing ourselves from the grid—a three-dimensional lattice structure often used in modernist architecture—a fluid space can emerge, creating a sensation of being immersed in nature. Just as spaces of ‘stream’ and ‘eddies’ exist in nature, Ito seeks to create within architecture diverse ‘places’ rather than rooms divided by function.

Joining online from Japan, Ito will discuss his architecture practice with Dr Raffaele Pernice, Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urbanism at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Please note the talk will be conducted in both Japanese and English, with the assistance of an interpreter. A recording of the in-person talk event will be available to view online at a later date.

Header image by Document Photography

Toyo Ito's Photo: FUJITSUKA Mitsumasa