Kazuyo Sejima
Director of SANAA
Born in Ibaraki Japan, Kazuyo Sejima received a degree in architecture from the Japan Women’s University in 1981. In 1987 she opened her own studio in Tokyo and then in 1995, together with Ryue Nishizawa, she founded SANAA. Her own works include House in Plum Grove, Inujima Art House project, and Japan Women’s University Mejiro Campus. SANAA’s main works include the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, the Rolex Learning Center (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne), Louvre-Lens, Grace Farms, and La Samaritaine. In 2010 Kazuyo Sejima was appointed director of the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Biennale. Her honors include the Japan Architecture Award, Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award, Rolf Schock Prize in Category of Visual Arts, Pritzker Architecture Prize, Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters, Prix de l’Équerre d’Argent, the Medal with Purple Ribbon, Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture, and Praemium Imperiale. She is currently a professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, and teaching at Japan Women’s University and Osaka University of Arts as a visiting professor.
