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Toyo Ito
Japanese architect Toyo Ito is one of the world's most revered architects but he rarely allows his buildings to be published online, hence his relatively modest showing on our Hot List.
However he earned his position on the list largely thanks to his role in the saga of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium.
Ito, 75, was one of a number of architects that campaigned against Zaha Hadid's competition-winning design, so when it was scrapped last year, it was no surprise to see him on the shortlist for a replacement architect. Although in the end he lost out to Kengo Kuma.
The profile of the architect – who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2013 – was also raised by his inclusion in the hugely popular MoMA exhibition A Japanese Constellation, which focused on the work of three generations of Japanese architects.
The year also saw him complete a huge new museum of Baroque art and culture in Mexico. But Dezeen readers were just as interested in this as they were by his earlier work, including the Tama Art University Library and his 2002 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
Top posts:
1. Kengo Kuma beats Toyo Ito to win Japan National Stadium competition
2. Kengo Kuma and Toyo Ito unveil competing bids for Tokyo Olympic Stadium
3. Japanese architects have rejected the starchitect system says MoMA curator
4. Tama Art University Library by Toyo Ito
5. Toyo Ito creates fluted walls of white concrete at Museo Internacional del Barroco