Born in 1928, Fumihiko Maki’s career has spanned the post-war architectural scene across Japan and the United States. Studying under Kenzo Tange at the University of Tokyo, Maki graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1952. Unusually in his generation of Japanese graduates, he then moved to the United States for further study, graduating from Cranbrook Academy of Art (1952) and Harvard Graduate School of Design (1954) before an appointment as assistant professor of architecture at Washington University in 1956. After working at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and teaching at Harvard in 1962-1965, Maki returned to Japan to start his own practice in 1965.

Throughout the 1960s Maki had a unique position at the centre of architectural discourse and practice in both the United States and Japan. Connected to the Metabolist movement from its earliest years, Maki coined the term megastructure but became an advocate for a more granular and sensitive approach to urban design he would call ‘group form’. Later work included the long-evolving Hillside Terrace complex in Tokyo (1969-1992) and the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco (1993). Fumihiko Maki has garnered widespread international recognition for his work, including the AIA Gold Medal and the 1993 Pritzker Prize.

Robin Boyd profiled Maki in New Directions in Japanese Architecture. When Boyd wrote to Maki requesting photos of the architect’s recent work, Maki’s response included a thoughtful summary of his current theoretical interests.