Itsuko Hasegawa

From then until 1969, she worked with Kiyonori Kikutake and then spent two years studying at Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Initially, the design was not popular among the local residents, who were concerned on how the building would be buried below ground level.

However, Hasegawa had many discussions with the residents, and when the opening phase of construction began in late 1989, the building was met with unanimous approval.

[1] Hasegawa won an open competition for the design of the Niigata Performing Arts Centre.

[2] Hasegawa is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and has received the Avon Arts Award, the Building Contractor's Society Prize for the Shonandai Cultural Center, the Cultural Award for Residential Architecture (Fukuoka, Japan), and a Design Prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan.