VISIONS OF BEAUTY (part 2) / Day 2 -- Tadao Ando

photocourtesythebandfrom.com

Peeps,

While the number of Japanese architect Tadao Ando's completed projects (as well as international awards) has increased, his design vocabulary remains surprisingly restrained, and limited to an continuous dialogue on the themes of: light and darkness; how to achieve a sympathetic integration with context; and the use of everyday materials to expose a humble elegance. 


 In 2008,Wallpaper wrote that ' Tadao's route into the field of architecture is not what you might expect from one of today’s dominating design forces.  He explored unlikely incarnations as a truck driver and boxer before discovering his penchant for architecture. However, after traveling through Africa, Europe and the United States, Ando settled in his native Japan where he began applying his self-taught methods to building designs that have since earned his status as one of the greatest architects of our time.  With no formal training, Ando's dedication to craftsmanship and signature works in exposed concrete won him the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture, as well as scattering the Japanese landscape with his unmistakable designs.  Rejecting the traditional method of openness, Ando instead creates enclosed spaces whilst employing a creative use of natural light that exist together in splendid contradiction.  Inspired by his chaotic Japanese urban environment, his primary impetus is to create spaces where the individual can reflect away from the outside world . . . each of his works provides a sense of being at once secluded and connected to nature. '


"His consistent philosophy is architecture based on the climatic-cultural context that originated in the philosophy of the Kyoto School," Makoto Yamaguchi (an editor at Global Architecture) explains, referring to the 20th-century Japanese intellectual movement that included elements of Buddhism and a heightened respect for Asian traditions against the onslaught of Western modernism.  Tadao elaborated upon this concept, stating that, " You cannot simply put something new into a place.  You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see . . . the area of Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka where I come from was once the center of ancient Japan.  It has what is called a tomb culture, a tomb civilization . . . When you are young . . your body responds to the environment, the physical environment as well as the spiritual environment.  In my case, I was always aware of the great bombs surrounding us.  These tombs have a very powerful presence -- a place carved into nature that suggests a mediation on the past, the present, and the future . . . this tomb environment has affected me.  Also, I value the instinctive synthesized wisdom and inborn abilities of native peoples and traditions.  I prefer trying to solve difficult problems by referring back to native knowledge and solutions rather than consulting books of new theory."


Plans, drawings, models, and notes for Mr Ando's projects may be viewed online at www.tadao-ando.com, or through his Facebook page.


Thanks, 
Shane