The Children’s Center revealed his design approach, which has basically remained unchanged: an aggressive expression of the structure, a bold, sculptural handling of masses, and an intense articulation of functions. It also raised questions, which have persisted throughout his career, about his monumental sense of scale, here especially troubling in a building intended for children. More in keeping with its use is the Tensho Kotai Jingu Sect Headquarters, where the exposed concrete masses form an even more heroic ensemble.

The Kyoto International Conference Hall, which Otani designed on the basis of his winning entry in an open competition, is his representative building and shows both his strengths and weaknesses. One must applaud his effort to make a novel structural system of slanting columns and precast wall panels work. The system creates trapezoidal sections of different sizes and recalls a traditional method of wood construction in Japan called gassho zukuri; thus the Hall may be considered Otani’s contribution to the “Tradition Debate” that took place in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Otani has explored the architectural possibilities of this framework and has produced exciting visual effects, particularly on the outside, where (for example) interpreters’ booths jut out of the conference hall. Yet the effort is all too visible inside, and the merit of having chosen this unorthodox system becomes debatable as the novelty wears off—when you have seen one room with a trapezoidal section, you have seen them all.

Otani is known as a theoretician and educator, and his Kojimachi Redevelopment Project is his essay in experimental urban design and housing. The dwelling units are self-contained and raised off the ground on stilts. The possibility of their fitting various ground contours is investigated, yet little else is shown to indicate that the project was meant for a specific site, much less one in central Tokyo.

The same slightly academic air prevails in Otani’s more recent public housing project in Kawasaki, which was actually built. One can see his characteristic desire to explore new spatial organizations. In a typical building, the bottom half of the slab splays outward, creating inside what was intended to be a sheltered semi-public space. Unfortunately, nothing has been done with this space and it is dark and cavernous; one expects manacled prisoners to file past, not children and adults engaged in those spontaneous encounters the architect undoubtedly sought to promote.

In the end, it is not for his earnest investigations into new spatial organizations but for the indisputably dramatic sculptural expression of his forms that Otani’s work will be remembered.

Hiroshi Watanabe

Anne Lee Morgan, Colin Naylor, Contemporary Architects, St. James Press, 1987

1946 Diploma in Architecture, University of Tokyo;

1946-60 Architectural designer, office of Kenzo Tange, Tokyo;

1951 Doctor of Architecture, University of Tokyo;

1952 Married Akiko Ochiai; daughter, Michiko;

1955-64 Lecturer, Department of Architecture, University of Tokyo;

1960 Established private practice, Tokyo;

1963 First Prize, International Conference Hall Competition, Kyoto;

1964-71 Assistant Professor of City Planning, University of Tokyo;

1968 Exhibition, Contemporary Japanese Architecture, toured Italy;

1969 Exhibition, Sachio Otani: Pan-Pacific Prize Exhibition, Honolulu;

1969 Pan-Pacific Prize, American Institute of Architects, Hawaii Chapter;

1971 Professor of City Planning, University of Tokyo;

Member, Architectural Institute of Japan;

Member, City Planning Institute of Japan;

January 2, 2013 Died.

History of Urban Space Composition, Tokyo, 1972

Regional Planning and Environment, Tokyo, 1972

Life and the City, Tokyo, 1974

“Urban Design and Architecture,” Journal of Architecture and Building Science (Tokyo), October 1965

“Urban Space and Community,” Chiiki Kaihatsu (Tokyo), May 1971

“Logic in Space Composition,” Toshi Jutaku (Tokyo), December 1971

“Matters Relating to Urban Renewal,” Man and City, Tokyo, 1973

“Composition of Urban Space,” in Contemporary Policies in City Planning, Tokyo, 1973

“Historical Landscape Design and City Planning,” Journal of Architecture and Building Science (Tokyo), December 1973

“City Planning and Cultural Properties,” Gekkan Bunkazai (Tokyo), June 1975

“Contemporary Architecture and the Quality of Urban Space,” Toshi Jutaku (Tokyo), October 1975

“Low-rise Collective Housing,” Toshi Jutaku (Tokyo), May 1977

“The Role of City Planning in the Conservation of Historical Towns,” Kankyo Bunka (Tokyo), February 1978

Further Reading

Tempel, Egon, New Japanese Architecture, New York, 1969

Kurita, Isamu (editor), The Complete Works of Contemporary Japanese Architects, vol. 18, Tokyo, 1970

Shinkenchikusha: A Guide to Japanese Architecture, Tokyo, 1971

Ross, Michael Franklin, Beyond Metabolism: The New Japanese Architecture, New York, 1978

Noffsinger, James P., Sachio Otani: Tange's Disciple, Monticello, Illinois, 1980

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