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Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection, 1970-2019

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-2025-034

Scope and Content

The Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection consists of 27 sketches, primarily design development sketches and conceptual studies, 1 towel design printed on fabric, and an annotated curriculum vitae. Sketches were made using a variety of media and supports: pencil, ink, crayon, and marker on tracing, heavy construction or multimedia paper, and cotton.

The towel was designed to commemorate Tomita's 80th birthday; close to 100 were made, each hand-dyed, as gifts for friends.

Dates

  • 1970-2019, undated

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Permission to publish material from the Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection must be obtained from the Special Collections and University Archives at Virginia Tech.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication.

Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Biographical / Historical

Reiko Tomita was born on September 24th, 1938, in Shinjuku, Tokyo. During World War II her family fled to Saitama, roughly 20 miles north of Tokyo's city center. While her father died during the war, she and her mother eventually returned to Tokyo (Asagaya) following its end.

Tomita attended Tokyo University and was the first woman to enroll in and graduate from the university's department of architecture in 1961. In 1963 she completed her master's course in architecture in Kenzo Tange's atelier (also part of Tokyo University's architecture department).

From 1963-1971 she worked at U Atelier (U-Ken), an architectural office headed by architect Takamasa Yoshizaka. In 1971, she and two other members of U Atelier, Hiroyasu Higuchi and Koichi Otake, left to start their own design practice, Atelier Zo, originally a pun on THO (the first letters of the founding members' last names), "Zo" means "elephant" in Japanese. In the 1980s Atelier Zo evolved into Team Zoo, a cooperative of loosely connected studios, each with its own animal iconography.

Reiko Tomita has taught at Tokyo University, Waseda University, and served as a visiting lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania University. Tomita continues to work at Atelier Zo in her 80s.

On her curriculum vitae she notes the following major projects for Atelier Zo on which she worked:

Domo Celakanto (1974)[residential] Domo Arabeska (1974)[residential] Domo Kinyana (1992)[residential] Shinshukan Community Center (1980) [public/institutional] Nago City Hall (1981) [public/institutional] Kasahara Elementary School (1982) [educational] Taiwan Iiran County Hall (1997) [public/institutional] Kutaniyaki Porcelain Museum (2001) [public/institutional] Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning (2009) [public/institutional]

Extent

0.2 Cubic Feet (2 oversize folders of materials)

Language of Materials

Japanese

Abstract

The Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection consists primarily of sketches (27 total), made with various media applied to different substrates. Other materials include a design printed on a hand-dyed piece of fabric and a curriculum vitae.

Arrangement

Materials in this collection are arranged into two series:

I. Personal and biographical materials II. Project designs

Items are arranged chronologically by creation date in their respective series.

Source of Acquisition

Collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives by Reiko Tomita via IAWA Board Member Junko Matsukawa in March 2025.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection was completed in May 2025.

Title
Reiko Tomita Architectural Collection, 1970-2019
Status
Completed
Author
Jade Snelling
Date
2025 (CC0 1.0)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308