March 24, 2017 College Hosts Pritzker Prize-winner Kazuyo Sejima in Public Lecture at Bijou April 8
Kazuyo Sejima, co-founder of the multiple award-winning international architecture firm, SANAA, and a 2010 recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture, will present a lecture on April 8, hosted by the UT College of Architecture and Design. The lecture will be held at the Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street. It begins at 4 p.m., and doors open at 3 p.m.
Sejima will present, “Environment and Architecture,” an introspection of how her interests translate into architecture. The lecture is sponsored by General Shale and is free and open to the public.
In 1995, Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa founded SANAA and have created award-winning architecture around the world, including the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in Japan, the Rolex Learning Center in Switzerland, the Louvre Lens in France and Grace Farms in the US, winner of the American Institute of Architects 2017 Institute Honor Award.
In 2010, Sejima and Nishizawa received the Pritzker Prize, which recognizes “talent, vision and commitment, which [have produced] significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” Their work was lauded by the Pritzker jury as “…simultaneously delicate and powerful, precise and fluid, ingenious but not overly or overtly clever….”
Born in Ibaraki, Japan, Sejima received a degree in architecture at the Japan Women’s University. Upon completion of her studies, she began working in the office of architect and 2013 Pritzker Prize-winner Toyo Ito. In 2010, Sejima was appointed director of the Venice Biennale.
The lecture is part of the kickoff of Architecture Week, an event of the American Institute of Architects East Tennessee Chapter. Architecture Week is April 1-16 and includes a lecture, symposium, exhibit, design competition and tours. For details, visit archweek.aiaetn.org.
Mark Your Calendar
A second General Shale lecture will be held April 29, 2-3 p.m. at the Bijou Theatre. The lecture features Craig Dykers, a founding partner of Snøhetta, an international architecture firm named by the Wall Street Journal as a 2016 Innovator and recently responsible for the new Times Square in New York.
For 43 years, the UT College of Architecture and Design has hosted leading architects and design professionals through its Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture Series and more recently the Governor’s Chair Lecture Series and General Shale Lectures to enrich the education of its students and elevate the profession in the community. In 2016-2017, more than a dozen professionals from around the world will lecture at the college. For the full list, visit archdesign.utk.edu/church-lecture-series.
Photo credit: Aiko Suzuki