Japanese architect Paul Noritaka Tange follows in his father’s footsteps by designing Olympic swimming centre

Kenzo Tange, a renowned Pritzker-winning architect who built the Yoyogi National Gymnasium for the 1964 Games, died in 2005 aged 91

The younger Tange designed the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the upcoming Games, applying principles learned from his father but also emphasising sustainability

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Japanese architect Paul Noritaka Tange, who designed the Tokyo Aquatics Centere, at his office. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:52pm, 15 Jun 2021Updated: 1:18pm, 15 Jun 2021

When Paul Noritaka Tange won the rights to design the Aquatics Centre for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, one of the first things he did was to visit the grave of his father, Kenzo Tange, the revolutionary Pritzker-winning architect.

“I wanted to tell him I’d grown enough to do this, too – that the office he founded was still fighting on,” Paul, 63, said of his father, who died in 2005 aged 91.

“I believe we’re the only father and son in the world to design the same Olympics venue – and a really strong feeling of respect for my father is part of why I wanted to do this.”

When the elder Tange built the Yoyogi National Gymnasium as a swimming arena for the 1964 Games, its bold floating roof and spires – evoking Japanese temples and suspension bridges – became a symbol of Japan’s triumphant return to the world stage after wartime defeat, helping to make Asia’s first Olympics a riotous celebration of resurrection and renewal.

But in 2021, Japan is an ageing nation that has struggled for years with economic malaise, and its crowded, high-rise capital is a very different place. Reuse and sustainability are the mantras under which Paul designed his venue for a Games overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Still, Paul used principles learned from his father, a workaholic often late for dinner, who enjoyed Jackie Chan and TV samurai dramas, and took his family on holidays to construction sites around the world.