Examination of Blurred Boundary and Avoidance of Modernist Grid in the Works of Toyo Ito

This study examines modernist grid and boundary in the works of Toyo Ito - two of the most important notions characterizing the development of Toyo Ito as an iconoclast architect. Early in his career, Ito recognized modernist architecture's inherent tendencies to establish homogenous order and divide space by function was alienating people from their context. Ito identified the notions of modernist grid and boundary as the agents of Modernism which inadvertently served to impose this systematic order and severe separation. As a reaction against these tendencies, Ito sought to avoid the use of modernist grid and blur boundary in his architecture. In Ito's career spanning over four decades, he engages in an exhaustive inquiry seeking to modify these two core elements of architecture. This study investigates these two notions in Ito's works and examines the significance of the architect's exploration in the context of Japan's Modernism.