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{{Short description|Japanese American architect (1927–2019)}}
{{Infobox architect
| name = Shoji Sadao
| image = File:Shoji Sadao.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{circa}}{{birth date|mf=yes|1927|01|02}}<sup>1</sup>
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], <br/>United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|11|03|1927|01|02|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Tokyo]], Japan
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Architect
| spouse = {{marriage|Sawada Sadao|1972|2019|reason=d}}
| parents = Riichi and Otatsu (Kodama) Sadao
| children =
| significant_buildings =
| significant_projects =
| embedded =
| education = Cornell University
}}
'''Shoji Sadao''' (貞尾 昭二, January 1927 – November 3, 2019) was a Japanese American architect, best known for his work and collaborations with [[Buckminster Fuller|R. Buckminster Fuller]] and [[Isamu Noguchi]].<ref name="Cornell Chronicle">{{cite news
| last1      = Aloi
| first1     = Daniel
| title      = Multimedia event profiles R. Buckminster Fuller
| url        = http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2012/09/multimedia-event-profiles-r-buckminster-fuller
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
| agency     = Cornell University
| publisher  = Cornell Chronicle
| date       = September 27, 2012
}}</ref> During [[World War II]] he was stationed in Germany and was a [[cartographer]] for the U.S. Army.
==Early years==
Sadao was born in [[Los Angeles]], California.  During World War II, he and most of his family were sent to the [[Gila River War Relocation Center]] in Arizona following the enforcement of [[Executive Order 9066]]. In 1945, Sadao was drafted into the US Army and served for four years.<ref name=genzlinger>{{citation |last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|title=Shoji Sadao, Quiet Hand Behind Two Visionaries, Dies at 92 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 13, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/arts/shoji-sadao-dead-fuller-noguchi.html}}</ref>
==Professional life==
Buckminster Fuller was Sadao’s instructor while studying architecture at [[Cornell University]], where they first met in the early 1950s.<ref name="Partners in Design">{{cite web
| title      = Fuller and Sadao: Partners in Design
| url        = https://library.stanford.edu/spc/exhibitspublications/past-exhibits/fuller-and-sadao-partners-design
| website    = Stanford University Libraries: Special Collections and University Archives
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref> In 1954, Sadao spent the year using his expertise as a cartographer to hand draw the [[Dymaxion map|Dymaxion Airocean World Map]], which was his first collaboration with Fuller.<ref name="Partners in Design" /> The first edition of the map "the Raleigh edition" was printed by Edwards and Broughton and was issued in an edition of 3,000 copies in the summer of 1954.<ref>{{cite book
| last1     = Sadao
| first1    = Shoji
| title     = Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi: Best of Friends
| date      = 2011
| publisher = 5 Continents Editions
| location  = Long Island City, NY
}}</ref> In 1964 Sadao co-founded the architectural firm Fuller & Sadao Inc., whose first project was to design the large [[geodesic dome]] for the [[Expo 67 pavilions|U.S. Pavilion]] at [[Expo 67]] in [[Montreal]].<ref name="Stanford Report">{{cite news
| last1      = Sanford
| first1     = John
| title      = Green Library exhibition documents collaboration between Fuller, architect Shoji Sadao
| url        = http://news.stanford.edu/news/2002/january9/buckminstersidebar-19.html
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
| publisher  = Stanford Report
| date       = January 9, 2002
}}</ref><ref name="WRSC good">{{cite web
| title      = Shoji Sadao
| url        = http://www.wrsc.org/people/shoji-sadao
| website    = World Resources SIM Center
| accessdate = 8 October 2015
}}</ref> In 1968 Fuller and Sadao designed Tetrahedron City, for [[Matsutaro Shoriki]], a Japanese financier. The complex was designed to accommodate one million citizens in 300,000 apartment units and included a huge interior harbor. Tetrahedron City was conceived as an efficient and [[sustainable living]]-space alternative. Its massive size and low-cost was made possible by an aluminum octet truss system. By floating on the sea, it didn’t take up any space on land.<ref name=MoMA>{{cite web
| title      = Tetrahedron City, project, Yomiuriland, Japan, Aerial perspective
| url        = http://www.moma.org/collection/works/863?locale=en
| website    = MoMA
| publisher  = Museum of Modern Art
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref>
While working with lighting designer [[Edison Price]] in 1959, Sadao assisted [[Isamu Noguchi|Noguchi]] with the production of his folded aluminum sculpture at the Stable Gallery.<ref name="Edison Price Factory">{{cite web
| title      = Noguchi with his sculptures at the Edison Price Factory 1958
| url        = http://noguchi.org/noguchi/timeline
| publisher  = Noguchi Museum
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref> Sadao began working with Noguchi on gardens and landscape projects in the 1960s, and in 1971 formed Noguchi Fountain and Plaza Inc., to design the [[Philip A. Hart Plaza]] and the [[Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain]] in Detroit.<ref name=Porcelainia>{{cite web
| last1      = DeVarco
| first1     = Bonnie
| title      = Geometrica Presentation Series: ICOSA
| url        = http://www.porcelainia.com/938.html
| website    = PORCELAINia
| publisher  = Bonnie DeVarco and Bobby Jaber
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref> Sadao also worked closely with Noguchi on the production of the well-known [[Akari Light Sculpture]]. In 1981 Sadao and Noguchi began work on the design and construction of the [[Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum]], now known as the [[Noguchi Museum]] in Long Island City, New York,<ref name="Museum Timeline">{{cite web
| title      = Museum Timeline
| url        = http://noguchi.org/museum/history
| website    = The Noguchi Museum
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref> with both Fuller and Noguchi, the scope of Sadao's work has yet to be fully acknowledged, perhaps due to what he himself has described as his “self-effacing” quality as a collaborator.<ref name=Domus>{{cite web
| last1      = Pfiefer
| first1     = Sandra
| title      = Fuller and Noguchi: Story of a Friendship
| url        = http://www.domusweb.it/en/interviews/2011/09/01/fuller-and-noguchi-story-of-a-friendship.html
| website    = Domus
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref>
==Later years==
Sadao served as the Executive Director of the Noguchi Museum from 1989 to 2003.<ref name="WRSC good"/><ref name="Museum Timeline"/> He has since been recognized as a lifetime honorary trustee at the museum.<ref name=Trustees>{{cite web
| title      = Board of Trustees
| url        = http://noguchi.org/about/trustees
| website    = Noguchi Museum
| accessdate = September 15, 2015
}}</ref> He was the author of the book ''Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi: Best of Friends'', a biography which details overlapping work and influence among Fuller, Noguchi, and Sadao.<ref name="Partners in Design"/>
Sadao died in [[Tokyo]] on November 3, 2019.<ref name=genzlinger/><ref name=NYTimesObit/>
==Notes==
1. Sadao’s parents registered his birth certificate with a date of January 2, 1927. His school records indicated his birthday as December 20, 1926.<ref name=NYTimesObit>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/arts/shoji-sadao-dead-fuller-noguchi.html |title= Shoji Sadao, Quiet Hand Behind Two Visionaries, Dies at 92 |newspaper=New York Times |date=2019-11-13}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DInusbMltU "My Design Work with R. Buckmaster Fuller"], a talk by Sadao given at Synergetics Collaborative's
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[[Category:20th-century American architects]]
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Japanese-American internees]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:American military personnel of Japanese descent]]
[[Category:Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni]]
[[Category:American cartographers]]
[[Category:Architects from Los Angeles]]