This course showcases works of contemporary architecture in Japan after 1950.
1. Kyoto International Conference Center
This building, designed by Yukio Otani, opened in 1966 and was Japan's first genuine international conference hall. Since then, it has been used as a place for intellectual exchange and has become world famous. Many international conferences, including the World Water Forum, have been held here. The Kyoto Protocol, designed to prevent global warming, was also adopted here.
Move to www.icckyoto.or.jp
Address: 422 Iwakura oosagi-cho,Sakyo-ku,Kyoto
Tel: 075-705-1234
Access: 3-minute walk from Kokusaikaikan Station on the Karasuma Subway Line
2. Kitayama Ining '23
Built in 1987 by Shin Takamatsu, currently professor in the research division at Kyoto University's graduate school of engineering, this structure boasts a fresh design and is currently used as a shopping center.
Address: 5-9 Shimogamo Maehagi-cho,Sakyo-ku,Kyoto
Access: 3-minute walk from Kitayama Station on the Karasuma Subway Line
3. Kyoto Concert Hall
Completed in 1995, this building was designed by post-modern architect Arata Isozaki. As the spiral-shaped slope that leads to the large and small halls soars sky-ward, your expectation that this is a performance spaces rises along with it. It contains Japan's finest organ, which is the world's first example of an organ constructed with shakuhachi, bamboo, and other traditional Japanese instruments.
Address: 1-26 Shimogamo Hangi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Access: 3-minute walk from Kitayama Station on the Karasuma Subway Line
4. Garden of Fine Arts
Designed by Tadao Ando and completed in 1994, this outdoor museum presents near-life sized reproductions of famous masterpieces on porcelain panels. There are 8 works in all and include Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" and high priest Toba's "The Scroll of Frolicking Animals and Humans." This is the world's first open-air art garden. Following a gentle slope down to the second-floor basement, you can enjoy the corridor's unique construction and the sound of rushing water from a large and small waterfall and pond. With the greenery of the nearby botanical garden in view you'll feel as if you have been dropped in the center of a deep forest.
Address: Shimogamo Hangi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Tel: 075-724-2188
Access: 1-minute walk from Kitayama Station on the Karasuma Subway Line
Hours: 9:00-17:00
Closed: December 28-January 4
Entrance Fee: 100 yen
5. Kyoto Tower
This Kyoto icon was built by Mamoro Yamada in 1964. The tower rests on the rooftop of a building and is supposed to evoke a light house, referring to the fact that Kyoto is not a seaside town. Unlike the Eiffel Tower and Tokyo Tower, it does not house a steel frame. The tower reaches 131 meters and you can take an elevator up to the observation deck 100 meters above ground.
Address: 721-1 Higashi Siokouji-cho,Shimogyo-ku,Kyoto
Access: 1-minute walk from Kyoto Station
Hours: 9:00-21:00
Open all year
Entrance Fee: 770 yen
6. Kyoto Station Building
This structure, completely renovated in 1997, sports a gigantic staircase, and with its wide open spaces and soaring height, reflects Kyoto's storied history and geographical location as basin city surrounded by mountains. The nucleus of this center includes the major hub for JR trains and subways, a theater, hotel, department store, and museum. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the building features a central concourse, raised 45 meters above ground, from which stretches a glass promenade (Sky Road). This provides a sweeping view of the city and is not to be missed.
Address: Higashi Siokouji-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
Access: Kyoto Station
Open all year
