Tadao Ando

The famous Church of the Light in Ibaraki-shi, Osaka, Japan

The Westin Awaji Island designed by Ando

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan

The Water Temple in Awaji Island, Japan

Morimoto restaurant at the Chelsea Market in Manhattan's Meatpacking district designed by Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando (安藤忠雄, Andō Tadao, born September 13, 1941 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture is sometimes categorised as Critical Regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field.

He works primarily in exposed cast-in-place concrete and is renowned for an exemplary craftsmanship which invokes a Japanese sense of materiality, junction and spatial narrative through the pared aesthetics of international modernism.

In 1969, he established the firm Tadao Ando Architects & Associates. In 1995, Ando won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize medallion. He donated the $100,000 prize money to the orphans of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

Buildings and works

Ando's buildings are often characterized by complex three-dimensional circulation paths. These paths interweave between interior and exterior spaces formed both inside large-scale geometric shapes and in the spaces between them.

His "Row House in Sumiyoshi" (Azuma House), a small two-story, cast-in-place concrete house completed in 1976, is an early work that begins to show elements of his characteristic style. It consists of three equally sized rectangular volumes: two enclosed volumes of interior spaces separated by an open courtyard. By nature of the courtyard's position between the two interior volumes, it becomes an integral part of the house's circulation system.

Completed

• Tomishima House, Osaka, Japan, 1973
• Uchida House, 1974
• Uno House, Kyoto, Japan, 1974
• Hiraoka House, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1974
• Shibata House, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1974
• Tatsumi House, Osaka, Japan, 1975
• Soseikan-Yamaguchi House, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1975
• Takahashi House, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1975
• Matsumura House, Kobe, Japan, 1975
• Row House (Azuma House), Sumiyoshi, Osaka, Japan, 1976
• Hirabayashi House, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1976
• Bansho House, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1976
• Tezukayama Tower Plaza, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, Japan, 1976
• Tezukayama House-Manabe House, Osaka, Japan, 1977
• Wall House (Matsumoto House), Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1977
• Glass Block House (Ishihara House), Osaka, Japan, 1978
• Okusu House, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1978
• Glass Block Wall (Horiuchi House), Sumiyoshi, Osaka, Japan, 1979
• Katayama Building, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1979
• Onishi House, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, Japan, 1979
• Matsutani House, Kyoto, Japan, 1979
• Ueda House, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, 1979
• STEP, Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, 1980
• Matsumoto House, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, 1980
• Fuku House, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, 1980
• Bansho House Addition, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1981
• Koshino House, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1981
• Kojima Housing (Sato House), Okayama Prefecture, Japan, 1981
• Atelier in Oyodo, Osaka, Japan, 1981
• Tea House for Soseikan-Yamaguchi House, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1982
• Ishii House, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, 1982
• Akabane House, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1982
• Kujo Townhouse (Izutsu House), Osaka, Japan, 1982
• Rokko Housing One, Rokko, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, 1983 map
• BIGI Atelier, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, 1983
• Umemiya House, Kobe, Japan, 1983
• Kaneko House, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, 1983
• Festival, Naha, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, 1984
• TIME'S, Kyoto, Japan, 1984
• Koshino House Addition, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1984
• MELROSE, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan, 1984
• Uejo House, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1984
• Ota House, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, 1984
• Moteki House, Kobe, Japan, 1984
• Iwasa House, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1984
• Hata House, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1984
• Atelier Yoshie Inaba, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, 1985
• JUN Port Island Building, Kobe, Japan, 1985
• Mon-petit-chou, Kyoto, Japan, 1985
• Guest House for Hattori House, Osaka, Japan, 1985
• Taiyō Cement Headquarters Building, Osaka, Japan, 1986
• TS Building, Osaka, Japan, 1986
• Chapel on Mount Rokko, Kobe, Japan, 1986
• OLD/NEW Rokko, Kobe, Japan, 1986
• Kidosaki House, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1986
• Fukuhara Clinic, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1986
• Sasaki House, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, 1986
• Main Pavilion for Tennoji Fair, Osaka, Japan, 1987
• Karaza Theater, 1987
• Ueda House Addition, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, 1987
• Church on the Water, Tomamu, Hokkaidō prefecture, Japan, 1988
• GALLERIA akka, Osaka, Japan, 1988
• Children's Museum, Himeji, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, 1989
• Church of the Light, Ibaraki, Osaka prefecture, Japan, 1989 [1] [2] map
• COLLEZIONE, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, 1989
• Morozoff P&P Studio, Kobe, Japan, 1989
• RAIKA Headquarters, Osaka, Japan, 1989
• Natsukawa Memorial Hall, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, 1989
• Yao Clinic, Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1989
• Matsutani House Addition, Kyoto, Japan, 1990
• Ito House, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, 1990
• Iwasa House Addition, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1990
• Garden of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan, 1990
• S Building, Osaka, Japan, 1990
• Water Temple, Awaji Island, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, 1991 [3] map
• Atelier in Oyodo II, Osaka, Japan, 1991
• TIME'S II, Kyoto, Japan, 1991
• Museum of Literature, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan, 1991
• Sayoh Housing, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1991
• Minolta Seminar House, Kobe, Japan, 1991
• Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Naoshima, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, 1995 [4] [5]
• Japanese Pavilion for Expo 92, Seville, Spain, 1992
• Otemae Art Center, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1992
• Forest of Tombs Museum, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, 1992
• Rokko Housing Two, Rokko, Kobe, Japan, 1993
• Vitra Seminar House, Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1993
• Gallery Noda, Kobe, Japan, 1993
• YKK Seminar House, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, 1993
• Suntory Museum, Osaka, Japan, 1994
• MAXRAY Headquarters Building, Osaka, Japan, 1994
• Chikatsu-Asuka Historical Museum, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1994
• Kiyo Bank, Sakai Building, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1994
• Garden of Fine Art, Kyoto, Japan, 1994
• Museum of wood culture, Kami, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1994
• Inamori Auditorium, Kagoshima, Japan, 1994
• Nariwa Museum, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, 1994
• Atelier in Oyodo Annex, Osaka, Japan, 1995
• Nagaragawa Convention Center, Gifu, Japan, 1995
• Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum Annex, Naoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, 1995
• Meditation Space, UNESCO, Paris, France, 1995
• Shanghai Pusan Ferry Terminal, Osaka, Japan, 1996
• Museum of Literature II, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1996
• Gallery Chiisaime (Sawada House), Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1996
• Museum of Gojo Culture & Annex, Gojo, Nara Prefecture, Japan, 1997
• TOTO Seminar House, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1997
• Yokogurayama Natural Forest Museum, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, 1997
• Harima Kogen Higashi Primary School & Junior High School, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1997
• Koumi Kogen Museum, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, 1997
• Eychaner/Lee House, Chicago, Illinois, 1997
• Daikoku Denki Headquarters Building, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1998
• Daylight Museum, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, 1998
• Junichi Watanabe Memorial Hall, Sapporo, Japan, 1998
• Asahi Shimbun Okayama Bureau, Okayama, Japan, 1998
• Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital, Butwal, Nepal, 1998
• Church of the Light Sunday School, Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, 1999
• Rokko Housing III, Kobe, Japan, 1999
• Shell Museum, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 1999
• FABRICA (Benetton Communication Research Center), Treviso, Italy, 2000
• Awaji-Yumebutai, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 2000 map
• Rockfield Shizuoka Factory, Shizuoka, Japan, 2000
• Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, St. Louis, Missouri, 2001 [6]
• Ryotaro Shiba Memorial Museum, Higashiosaka, Osaka prefecture, Japan, 2001
• Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 2002 [7]
• Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, 2002 [8]
• Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, UK, 2003
• Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, 2004 [9]
• Morimoto restaurant in the Chelsea Market, his first project in Manhattan, opened January 2006.
• Omotesando Hills, Jingumae 4-Chome, Tokyo, Japan, 2006

In progress

• House, stable, and mausoleum for former fashion designer Tom Ford , near Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Expansion for the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts
• Rebuilding the Kobe Kaisei Hospital in Nada Ward, Kobe, Japan
• New Tokyo Tower [10] - to be the world's tallest structure upon completion.

Awards

• Annual Prize (Row House, Sumiyoshi), Architectural Institue of Japan, 1979
• Cultural Design Prize (Rokko Housing One and Two), Japan, 1983
• Alvar Aalto Medal, The Finnish Association of Architects, 1985
• Gold Medal of Architecture, French Academy of Architecture, 1989
• Carlsberg Architectural Prize, Denmark, 1992
• Japan Art Academy Prize, Japan, 1993
• Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1995
• Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France, 1995
• Praemium Imperiale First “FRATE SOLE” Award in Architecture, Japan Art Association, 1996
• Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France, 1997
• Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), 1997
• AIA Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2002

References

• Francesco Dal Co. Tadao Ando: Complete Works. Phaidon Press, 1997. ISBN 0714837172
• Kenneth Frampton. Tadao Ando: Buildings, Projects, Writings. Rizzoli International Publications, 1984. ISBN 0847805476
• Randall J. Van Vynckt. International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture. St. James Press, 1993. ISBN 1558620877

External links

• Read About Tadao Ando Cyber-Squatting Domain Names
• Tadao Ando unofficial website 01 (cyber-squatting)
• Tadao Ando unofficial website 02 (cyber-squatting)
• Tadao Ando page at greatbuildingsonline.com
• Web page about Tadao Ando (archINFORM database)

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