David B. Stewart In Memoriam

After few years of fragile health and several ailments, the noted historian of architecture David B. Stewart died in Tokyo, where he lived for over 40 years, on April 3rd, 2025. He has been the finest commentator of Japanese architecture of the 20th century.

His major work The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture (Kodansha, Tokyo: 1988, second edition 2003 with a new preface) remains the reference book in English, or in any other language for that matter, for that crucial period of Japanese history. In it, Stewart went beyond the historian to make critical propositions that still hold true.

He not only retraced the origins of what can be safely considered nowadays the most vibrant and creative region in the world for architecture, but offered a hypothesis that in the expansive 1980s seemed reductionist but has been firmly stablished since then: the major figures of the second half of the 20th century in Japan, delineating two major trends, were Arata Isozaki and Kazuo Shinohara. It is now, in the 2025 celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Shinohara's birth, to which Stewart contributed, that we can see the value of that foresight.

In his writings, he always offered explanations that went beyond the visual and attempted to frame architectural forms within a theoretical corpus. Always careful not to tread on intellectual territories that were foreign to the architects' aim, he nevertheless opened up ambitious references that could serve to relate specific works with major trends in the global discussion. Because this is what David was, above all: a living example of a cultural bridge, a connector of ideas, people, and works. Always keen to discuss at the highest level, was a friend and mentor in several ways. And he will, already is, deeply missed.

David B. Stewart was born in Washington, D.C., in 1942. He pursued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors in the History of Art (1960–1964), and later at the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London, where he completed his PhD in the History of European Art under the supervision of Professor Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1964–1972), with a thesis about Le Corbusier. Before moving to Japan, he was a member of the editorial staff of L’Architecture d'aujourd'hui in Paris.

He taught the history of architecture at the famed Tokyo Institute of Technology (now Science Tokyo) since 1976, where he was nominated Specially Appointed Professor in his last years. His articles appeared in many international magazines and he lectured extensively worldwide, with some of his lessons available on YouTube. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Tokyo Institute of Technology Centennial Hall, at Meguro-ku Tokyo Japan, designed by Kazuo Shinohara in 1987. CC BY-SA 3.0

Kitakyushu Central Library. Photography by FUJITSUKA Mitsumasa.

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David B. Stewart

David B. Stewart was born in Washington, D.C. in 1942, and passed away on April 3rd, 2025. He pursued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with honours in the History of Art (1960–1964), and later at the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London, where he completed his PhD in the History of European Art under the supervision of Professor Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1964–1972), with a thesis about Le Corbusier. Before moving to Japan, he was a member of the editorial staff of L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui in Paris.

Since 1976, he taught history and theory of architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (now Tokyo Institute of Science), where he worked closely with influential figures such as Kazuo Shinohara, whose work he helped to contextualize and promote internationally. Stewart became one of the most important Western interpreters of Shinohara’s thought, a colleague and a key disseminator of his architectural philosophy. In his later years, he was appointed Specially Appointed Professor at the same institution.

Stewart published extensively on both modern European architecture and contemporary Japanese architects. His seminal book The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture: 1868 to the Present (1987) remains a fundamental reference in the field. He also co-authored Arata Isozaki: Architecture 1960–1990 and contributed essays to monographs on Kenzo Tange and Tadao Ando. En relación con Kazuo Shinohara, escribió Kazuo Shinohara: Centennial Hall, Tokyo (1995), un estudio detallado sobre una de las obras más emblemáticas del arquitecto, y coeditó Kazuo Shinohara: View from This Side, una recopilación de ensayos y fotografías que ofrece una visión crítica e integral de su legado.

Fluent in Japanese and French, Stewart served as a translator and cultural mediator, contributing significantly to the international understanding of postwar Japanese architecture.

Published on: April 7, 2025

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