Hitoshi Abe, the newly instated chair of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design, finds a wealth of meaning behind the name of his home country, Japan.
As the “Land of the Rising Sun” (a common translation of Nippon, the country’s Japanese name), Abe views Japan as a location on the periphery, with an unusual position at the edge of the sun’s journey. Metaphorically, Japan’s position on the edge makes the country a repository for a number of different cultural trends in food, art and music, from anime to sushi.
Abe’s main interest, however, rests with the contributions this Japanese mind-set delivers to the realm of architecture, as he will soon bring his unique outlook to his role as chair.
Abe officially assumed the position on April 1, transferring from his work as a professor at Tohoku University in Japan.
With architectural experience in both the U.S. and Japan, Abe believes that the fast-paced culture of Los Angeles life provides a parallel to that of Japan.
“If Japan is the end of the Eastern culture, then Los Angeles is the end of the Western culture,” Abe said.
Abe looks to fuse these two cultural perspectives, as both locations are known widely as forefronts for growing advancements in architecture.
“UCLA is the perfect place to pursue what the new future and a new reality can be if I merge these two extremes of West and East together,” he said.
A highly prominent figure in the world of architecture, Abe has studied and taught in both the U.S. and Japan, earning his M.A. in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and his Ph.D. from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. His work in architecture has been published and catalogued throughout the world.
The upcoming exhibition, “Body: Hitoshi Abe,” will feature Abe’s wide-ranging accomplishments, opening April 25 and running until June 6 at Perloff Gallery. The exhibition will showcase six of his well-known architectural projects, including the Aoba-tei restaurant in Sendai, Japan.
During the selection process for a new department chair, which spanned over a year, many applicants were interviewed and considered.
But Abe’s expansive expertise and ambitious plans quickly set him apart.
Selection committee member and professor Richard Weinstein believes Abe is a great match for the post.
“He had a kind of calm, determined and very clear approach that seemed just right for where the department is now,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein formed part of an unprecedented vote in which the selection committee voted unanimously for Abe as chair.
“I’ve been here for 22 years, and this is the first time that the faculty voted unanimously on anything. It just never happens,” he said.
Weinstein felt Abe’s experience with projects around the world gave him even greater strength as a candidate.
“We live in the most diverse city in the United States. Having someone from another culture who has an established reputation internationally as an architect is very intriguing,” Weinstein said. “A lot of our students are going to be doing work in Asia, so the whole Pacific Rim is going to be very important for the next generation of architects.”
In addition to his range of works, Abe is focused on addressing current architectural concerns, especially environmental and urban matters.
“We as architects are the profession that can help solve different issues,” he said. “Environmental issues have to be solved not within one industry but by mediating different industries and professions.”
His views represent a more global mind-set, as the field of architecture must adapt to changing technologies that force architects to consider the repercussions of various decisions.
“Because every city in the world is now connected and influenced by each other, we really have to find a way to manage everything,” Abe said. “It calls for greater urban study.”
Abe plans to bring the department into a more modern era of globalization while also addressing the importance of holding ties to the local environment.
“(An) important question is how can we regain a sense of community and a sense of localness, (and) how through architecture can we regain the meaning of the place in the world of globalization,” he said.
Abe’s career has constantly involved exporing new boundaries in architecture, a trend he hopes to continue as chair.
“The school is great already, but I would like to push the department even further in the positive direction it is already heading, by bringing in a more technological side,” Abe said.
“I think of the department as a sort of practicing laboratory, one that will be even more inventive and more experimental in the upcoming years.”