Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1957. He then attended University of Tokyo, under the supervision of Kenzo Tange. Kurokawa received a master’s degree in 1959. Kurokawa then went on to study for a doctorate of philosophy, but subsequently dropped out in 1964. Kisho Kurokawa was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture by the Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia in Sept. 7, 2002.

In 1958, Kisho Kurokawa predicted a “Transition from the Age of the Machine to the Age of Life,” and has continually utilized such key words of life principles as metabolism (metabolize and recycle), ecology, sustainability, symbiosis, intermediate areas (ambiguity) and Hanasuki (Splendor of Wabi) in order to call for new styles to be implemented by society. For four decades, Kisho Kurokawa created eco-friendly and sustainable architectural projects. In 2003 he was awarded the Dedalo-Minosse International Prize (Grand Prix) for his creation of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and KLIA is the first and only airport in the world to receive the United Nations’ Green Globe 21 certification for the airport’s commitment to environmental responsibility each year since 2004. In 2008, the Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute was founded in his honor.

With colleagues, he cofounded the Metabolist Movement in 1960, whose members were known as Metabolists. It was a radical Japanese avant-garde movement pursuing the merging and recycling of architecture styles within an Asian context. The movement was very successful, peaking when its members received praise for the Takara Cotillion Beautillion at the Osaka World Expo 1970. The group was dismantled shortly thereafter.

Kurokawa wrote extensively on philosophy and architecture and lectured widely. He wrote that there are two traditions inherent in any culture: the visible and the invisible. His work, he claimed, carried the invisible tradition of Japan. In 1972, he received a grant from the Graham Foundation to deliver a lecture at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Although he had practiced the concept of sustainable and eco-minded architecture for four decades, Kisho Kurokawa became more adamant about environmental protection in his latter years. In 2007, he ran for governor of Tokyo and then for a seat in the House of Councillors in the 2007 Japanese House of Councillors election. Although not elected, Kisho Kurokawa successfully established the Green Party to help provide environmental protection. Also in 2007, Kurokawa created the structure of the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute, which helps to develop environmentally-conscious business practices. Kurokawa was a stakeholder and founding Chair of the Executive Advisory Board of the Anaheim, California-based university since 1998 and his wife Ayako Wakao-Kurokawa serves as Honorary Chairman of the institute.

He died of heart failure on October 12, 2007; he was 73.