After graduating from Tokyo University in 1965, in 1971 he founded his own studio Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. He has received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion of the International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In the 70s, he tried to erase the conventional meaning of his works through minimalist tactics, to then develop a lightness in an architecture that resembles air and wind.