A Conversation with Riken Yamamoto, Pritzker Prize-Winning Architect

This year’s winner of the Pritzker Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Architecture, is the Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto. 

Yamamoto’s architectural philosophy, which has garnered global attention, is not based on a traditional concept of ‘one house per family.’ Instead, he advocates for the innovative idea that people should not only rely on the state, but also create spaces that foster communities through architecture, while actively participating in them.

With the air of a philosopher illuminating the future of the architectural world with his rigid principles, Yamamoto says that in this day and age we have become so attached to our individual, private lives that we have become detached from community and have lost our sense of helping others. As an architect, he rings this alarm bell for the world to hear.

I met Yamamoto, who had just returned from the Pritzker ceremony in Chicago, at his office at the Yamamoto Riake Design Workshop. The office, with its open glass walls and bright light streaming in, was buzzing with activity as young staff members gathered near the entrance, eagerly discussing an architectural model on their desks. 

The office was, in fact, right next to the house where Yamamoto grew up. “My mother’s pharmacy was on the first floor and my home was on the second,” he said. He had set up his workspace in the nostalgic place where he spent his childhood. At that moment, I felt as if I had caught a glimpse of his true face.

Congratulations on your Pritzker Award. How was the awards ceremony in Chicago?

RY Chicago as a city was quite the sight to behold, with its lineup of magnificent rows of mid- and high-rise buildings. The city was largely destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in the 19th century, and around that time steel was becoming more common. Previously, buildings were mainly made of brick, which was less durable. The reconstruction after the fire marked the beginning of widespread use of sturdy steel in building construction. Steel also pairs well with concrete, and with advances in technology, Chicago became known as a city of steel. In a way, Chicago was like a futuristic city envisioned by the people of the 19th century.

The awards ceremony took place over the course of three days. The award ceremony took place on the third day, and Thomas Pritzker, representing the Pritzker Foundation, gave a speech about me. NHK and TBS television stations travelled to Chicago [from Japan] to cover the event.

Can you tell me about your background and how you entered the world of architecture? 

RY My father was an engineer. I was born in Beijing and my family returned to Japan when I was very young, but my father died when I was five years old. I was raised by my mother, who was a pharmacist. I don’t have many memories of my father, so I grew up listening to the stories my mother told me about him. Things may have been different if he were still alive, but since he was dead, my mother only told me good things about my father. My father, as portrayed by my mother, made me want to become an engineer like him when I grew up.

Why did you decide to pursue architecture rather than engineering?

RY I used to think the work of an architect was similar to that of an engineer. But when I became a student at the department of Architecture at Nihon University’s College of Science and Technology, I realized it was different. That’s why, next, I entered the architecture program at Tokyo University of the Arts’ Graduate School of Fine Arts. I studied engineering diligently, but I also came to believe that art is important.

When I was in college, I didn’t have a particular idea of what kind of architect I wanted to be. I learned about figures like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and movements like Arts and Crafts, only knowing of Le Corbusier through photographs. I might have actually been inspired by the buildings of Kenzo Tange. I liked them. After graduating from the Department of Architecture at Nihon University, I went on to study architecture and art at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts.

Afterwards, I became a research student in the Hara Laboratory at the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo, and travelled the world as part of a global village research team. In Paris, I rented a Peugeot and became the team leader, taking seven students along with me wherever I went. I travelled along the Mediterranean coast through Spain and the Sahara Desert, into Algeria and Tunisia, then returned to France to return the car. Next, I went to Italy, rented a Fiat, and visited Naples and Alberobello in Southern Italy, then on to Greece. After, I continued to India, Nepal, Central and South America, and Los Angeles, almost making a complete trip around the world, conducting surveys on living arrangements.

The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century transformed the world, and it was quite exciting to be able to see the original forms of architecture from before that time in many places. As a research team from Japan, we were treated with kindness in every country that we visited. 

What was the first building you built? 

RY The first building I ever built was a villa called Yamakawa Sanso, which is located at an elevation of 1700 meters. The client wanted a large terrace, so the whole villa ended up being almost entirely a terrace. 

Everyone was surprised. Since there was nothing around, there was no need for privacy. There was no entrance; you could enter from anywhere. I wanted it to reflect a liberal and open-minded way of thinking.

Where did your current philosophy of valuing community originate? 

RY I have been studying and researching the history of architecture for a long time and have come to think that it’s strange to view society only in terms of family units. The family is only one part of a community. Japan is also becoming an ageing society, and issues such as solitary deaths are becoming a problem. I think if buildings were more open, there would be more interaction between neighbours and conversations with the elderly, which could help eliminate such problems. 

Emmanuel Todd [a French historian and anthropologist] says that the origin of the family is based on the nuclear family, but that’s not actually the case. In reality, every kind of family is a part of the village community, so it is impossible for nuclear families to be isolated and alone. They constantly maintain connections with their communities.  

After the war, Japan built similar buildings and partitioned them into smaller units with an emphasis on privacy, so that many families could live in them, and this continues to be the case today. As architects, our role moving forward is to create regional communities through community efforts, rather than relying solely on national support.

What are your short-term plans for the future?

RY Since receiving the Pritzker Prize, I’ve received various offers from different countries, so I plan to travel to places such as Guatemala, Serbia, New Delhi in India, and South Korea.

Who is your Mastermind? 

RY The female philosopher Hannah Arendt is like a spiritual master to me. Her book The Human Condition is a form of total realism, and it was a shock to me. It is a significant work that discusses the environment of the ‘polis’ that existed in ancient Greece, covering topics such as what it means to be human, as well as power and space. She is knowledgeable about architecture and has developed new philosophies from Greek thought. It is said that she actively approached Martin Heidegger, who is one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, and reportedly became his lover.