tadao ando

tadao ando, interview with the japanese architect ...............................................................................................................................................................................................

	tadao ando tadao ando was born in osaka, japan, in 1941. he was the first born of twin boys. from ages 10 to 17 ando spent his time mostly making wood models of ships, airplanes, and moulds, learning the craft from a carpenter whose shop was across the street from his home. 1962-1969, by his early twenties, ando had decided on a self-directed course of architectural study that took him throughout japan to visit temples, shrines, and tea houses, to europe, africa and to the united states. he was studying architecture by going to see actual buildings, and reading books about works of architects such as le corbusier, ludwig mies van der rohe, alvar aalto, frank lloyd wright, and louis kahn before returning to osaka at the age of 28 to open his own studio, tadao ando architect & associates. tadao ando has been a visiting professor at tokyo university, yale, harvard, and columbia. some architectural projects: 1976 row house (azuma house) sumiyoshi, osaka 1983 rokko housing I, kobe, hyogo 1988 church of the light, osaka 1989 childrens' museum, himeji, hyogo 1991 water temple, awaji island, hyogo 1992 japan pavilion expo '92, seville; naoshima contemporary art museum, kagawa 1991-1993 vitra conference pavilion, weil am rhein; factory building for the company benetton in treviso, italy 1995 meditation space, unesco, paris 1998 toto seminar house, awaji, hyogo; hiroki oda museum, gamo-gun, shiga 1999 rokko housing III, kobe, hyogo 2000 ‘fabrica’ (benetton research center), treviso, italy; awaji island project, awaji, hyogo 2001 theater for giorgio armani, milan, italy 2002: the modern art museum of fort worth, texas next to construction: museumfondation pinault, paris among the many prizes he received: 1979 the annual prize from the architectural institute of japan 1985 5th alvar aalto medal, finnish association of architects 1989 gold medal, french academy of architecture 1992 carlsberg architectural prize, denmark 1995 chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres, france; pritzker architecture prize 1997 royal gold medal, royal institute of british architects; officier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres, france selected solo exhibitions: 1991 museum of modern art, new york 1993 centre georges pompidou, paris royal institute of british architects, london 1995 basilica palladiana, vicenza 1998 national museum of contemporary art, korea, seoul; royal academy of arts, london 1999 galerie aedes east, berlin current exhibition: 'tadao ando: architect' saint louis art museum october 6 through december 30, 2001 related links: the pritzkerprize http://www.pritzkerprize.com/ando/andopg.htm the modern art museum of fort worth http://www.mamfw.org/new_modern.html artforum http://www.artforum.com/index.php?pn=news&week=200144#news1879 vitruvio http://www.vitruvio.ch/arc/masters/ando.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- we met tadao ando in the lobby of 'hotel de milan', in milan, italy on october 1st, 2001 ---	tadao ando photo © 2001 designboom giorgio armani headquater theater, milan, italy courtesy of giorgio armani spa the pulitzer foundation for the arts (saint louis art museum), saint louis, usa courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates church of the light, osaka, japan courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates
	what is the best moment of the day? no particular moment. morning maybe good because of the feeling of beginning. what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? mostly classic. what books do you have on your bedside table? I am interested in things happening around me, and I need to understand what's going on in other artistic sectors like music and literature. I read a lot, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. do you read architecture and design magazines? I don't read them. just look at it. I assume you notice how women dress. do you have any preferences? I don't look so closely at women's fashion, but from the 20th century on, people have had the freedom to express themselves and their individualities, and fashion is one of the most fundamental ways in which they do this, men and women are equally able to express themselves. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? nothing in particular. do you have any pets? a dog named 'le corbusier'. where do you work on your designs and projects? once I traveled a lot, to see the nature, the countryside and the cities, with a sketchbook... a practice I continue today. but plans actually I draw in my office. who would you like to design something for? I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture. I would like my architecture to inspire people to use their own resources, to move into the future. although now we are more and more governed by the american way of thinking, money, the economy... I hope that now people will shift to a more european way (of thinking), culture, individuality, and that people move towards new goals. so for me to be able to contribute to this would be great. do you discuss or exchange ideas with other architects? not much. describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. walls are the most basic elements of architecture, and in all my works, light is an important factor. the primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. its very difficult to explain or describe my style, I hope the answer will come out of the interview. what project has given you the most satisfaction? as an architect you have to do your best work for any project, but for me the most satisfying thing is when architecture can do something to make people's lives better, to inspire them. do you try to find meeting points between asian and european cultures? I don't see them as opposites, the west and the east, but for example western society seems to be centered on american culture. but I think it is important to understand that apart from that main culture, there are so many other cultures, and it is necessary to respect them all and their differences. is there any architect from the past you admire? of course I learned from history, from the renaissance, from mies van der rohe, le corbusier, terragni... many architects. what current architects do you appreciate? like with the work of the past, as an architect you have to look around and see what your contemporaries are creating, for my contemporaries I have respect and interest. did you always want to be an architect? right from the beginning yes, but in my life I have done many things, at one time I was a boxer... I was never a good student. I always preferred learning things on my own. [ see the quicktime clip, 380 kb ] why are you here in milan today? because giorgio armani asked me to design a theater in milan for him and today is the inauguration of the building. on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future ? I'm afraid that people don't want the future to happen. in order for people to want this, each person has to have goals in their life, to feel proud. work is one of the ways of achieving this. unemployment is dangerous because then people don't use their resources. each individual has to be able to use their abilities. --- december 6, 2001 tadao ando receives 2002 AIA gold medal - highest individual honor paid to architect whose work ‘embodies the timelessness of all enduring architecture’. [ read more ] --- editor's note tadao ando - complete works by francesco dal co phaidon press, 1995 his complete catalogue of ando’s work examines in detail over one hundred buildings and projects, illustrated by drawings, sketches, plans and other material from the architect’s own studio. http://www.phaidon.com	japan pavillion, expo '92, sevilla, spain courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates sayamaike historical museum, osaka, japan courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates fabrica (benetton communications research center), treviso, italy courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates naoshima contemporary art museum, kagawa, japan courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates model of the modern art museum of fort worth, texas courtesy of tadao ando architect & associates



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