Tadao Ando Architecture: 4 Tadao Ando Buildings

Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect who has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, two of the highest honors an architect can win. Born in Osaka, Japan, Ando had no formal training in architecture but became inspired by the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Imperial Hotel on a trip to Tokyo while in high school. After graduating, Ando took interior design and drawing classes and visited buildings by renowned architects such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. He opened his own firm in Osaka, Tadao Ando Architects and Associates, in 1968.

Tadao Ando’s minimalist style has shaped Japanese architecture and the world.

• Influence: A leader in modern architecture, Ando’s works have drawn heavily from Japanese religion and culture. He has designed several Japanese churches, including Church on the Water (1988) in Tomamu, Hokkaido, and Church of the Light (1989) in Ibaraki, Osaka. The latter is one of Ando’s most famous works. A concrete wall in the church features two thin slits running horizontally and vertically to create a cross, letting light stream in and making the cross glow.
• Global reach: Ando made a name for himself after designing dozens of buildings in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s and 2000s, he started working abroad, designing works across Europe (Spain, Germany, Italy, and France) and the United States (Chicago; New York; Williamstown, Massachusetts; and St. Louis, Missouri).
• Famous buildings: Ando’s architecture has spanned museums, churches, condominiums, and personal residences. Some of his more well-known works in the United States include the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2002) in Texas; Morimoto (2005), a now-closed sushi restaurant in New York City; and the New Mexico house and stable for fashion designer Tom Ford’s ranch (2009).

Characteristics of Ando’s artworks include the following:

1. 1. Critical regionalism: Architectural critics classify Ando’s work as “critical regionalism,” a term describing modern architecture that lacks the bland identity of the International Style and rejects the whimsical ornamentation of postmodern architecture. Because of his ties to Japanese culture, Ando’s works fit squarely into this identity; his sense of home influences his works.
2. 2. Concrete walls: Many of Ando’s structures—including Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art (2002) in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, and the personal residence Azuma House (1976), also known as the Row House in Sumiyoshi—incorporate enormous slabs of concrete for walkways and walls. The Shinmonzen Hotel (2021) in Kyoto resembles a traditional Japanese wooden townhouse, but the interior features vertical slats of wood and sleek concrete.
3. 3. Simplicity: Ando’s architectural style focuses on zen and finding simplicity in inner feeling. His works—such as Water Temple (1991) on Awaji Island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan—are not ostentatious. Instead, their plainness and smooth surfaces invite visitors in and make them feel at ease.

Some of Ando’s well-known buildings include:

1. 1. Rokko Housing I, II, III (various years): Ando’s work on three housing projects built in the Rokko region of Japan started in the 1980s and continued into the 1990s. Rokko Housing is an ambitious project built on a steep incline, taking advantage of the beautiful vistas and playing with the light and darkness the trees of the terrain afford.
2. 2. Meditation Space (1995): This building materialized at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to celebrate the institution’s fiftieth anniversary. Ando designed the space to give visitors from all over the world, regardless of race or religion, a place to come and find peace.
3. 3. Chichu Art Museum (2004): Built directly into a southern portion of the island of Naoshima, this structure operates as a subterranean museum. The Chichu Art Museum offers the opportunity to rethink the relationship between nature and people.
4. 4. Punta della Dogana (2009): One of Venice's old customs buildings, constructed in the 1600s, houses an art museum. In 2008, a French billionaire commissioned Ando to restore the building with new floors made of exposed and polished concrete.

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