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born 13 September 1941 is a Japanese architect. Autodidacticism, he is known for his unique integration of architecture and landscape. Architectural historian Francesco Dal Co described his work as an example of "critical regionalism". Ando was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1995.
The simplicity of his architecture emphasizes the concept of sensation and physical experiences, mainly influenced by Japanese culture. The religious term Zen, focuses on the concept of simplicity and concentrates on inner feeling rather than outward appearance. Zen influences vividly show in Ando's work and became its distinguishing mark. In order to practice the idea of simplicity, Ando's architecture is mostly constructed with concrete, providing a sense of cleanliness and weightlessness (even though concrete is a heavy material) at the same time. Due to the simplicity of the exterior, construction, and organization of the space are relatively potential in order to represent the aesthetic of sensation.
Besides Japanese religious architecture, Ando has also designed Christian churches, such as the Church of the Light (1989) and the Church in Tarumi (1993). Although Japanese and Christian churches display distinct characteristics, Ando treats them in a similar way. He believes there should be no difference in designing religious architecture and houses. As he explains,
We do not need to differentiate one from the other. Dwelling in a house is not only a functional issue, but also a spiritual one. The house is the locus of heart (kokoro), and the heart is the locus of god. Dwelling in a house is a search for the heart (kokoro) as the locus of god, just as one goes to church to search for god. An important role of the church is to enhance this sense of the spiritual. In a spiritual place, people find peace in their heart (kokoro), as in their homeland.Jin Baek, Nothingness: Tadao Ando’s Christian Sacred Space Routledge 2009
Besides speaking of the spirit of architecture, Ando also emphasises the association between nature and architecture. He intends for people to easily experience the spirit and beauty of nature through architecture. He believes architecture is responsible for performing the attitude of the site and makes it visible. This not only represents his theory of the role of architecture in society but also shows why he spends so much time studying architecture from physical experience.
In 1995, Ando won the Pritzker Prize for architecture, considered the highest distinction in the field. He donated the $100,000 prize money to the orphans of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.Muschamp, Herbert. (1995). "Among the Fountains with Tadao Ando; Concrete Dreams In the Sun King's Court" New York Times September 21, 1995
His Row House in Sumiyoshi (Azuma House, 住吉の長屋), a small two-story, cast-in-place concrete house completed in 1976, is an early work which began to show elements of his characteristic style. It consists of three equal rectangular volumes: two enclosed volumes of interior spaces separated by an open courtyard. The courtyard's position between the two interior volumes becomes an integral part of the house's circulation system. The house is famous for the contrast between appearance and spatial organization that allows people to experience the richness of the space within the geometry.
Ando's housing complex at Rokko, just outside Kobe, is a complex warren of terraces and balconies, atriums and shafts. The designs for Rokko Housing One (1983) and for Rokko Housing Two (1993) illustrate a range of issues in traditional architectural vocabulary—the interplay of solid and void, the alternatives of open and closed, the contrasts of light and darkness. More significantly, Ando's noteworthy engineering achievement in these clustered buildings is site-specific—the structures survived undamaged after the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995.Goldberger, Paul. "Architecture View: 'Laureate' in a Land of Zen and Microchips," The New York Times. April 23, 1995. New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger argues that:
Like Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo Second Imperial Hotel 1923-1968, which did survive the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, site specific decision-making, anticipates seismic activity in several of Ando's Hyōgo-Awaji buildings.Bassin, Joan. "Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel" , National Building Museum exhibition
Unlike the architect Auguste Perret, who pioneered the use of reinforced concrete, Ando used shuttering formwork to give concrete building elements their shape. The finished Ando building bears the memory of wood texture.
In 2003, Ando was commissioned by soap opera heir William Bell, Jr. and his wife Maria to design a house for an almost oceanfront site on the East Pacific Coast Highway in the Paradise Cove area of Malibu, California. The house (designed with WHY Architects) is a modernist concrete structure in an L shape, with six bedrooms and walls of glass. It has been described as minimalist and "echoey". Construction was completed in 2014, being prolonged due to the oceanfront location, soft soil, and California's extensive building codes. 7,645 cubic yards of unusually high quality concrete were used in the construction of the house, with its rebar specially treated to resist corrosion. The installation of the concrete in the driveway, garage, and parking areas in 2015 won an award for precision from the American Concrete Institute. Ando also designed a series of furniture pieces for the interior. In May 2023, couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased the house through a trust for $200 million. It was the most expensive single-family home sold in the United States in 2023. and surpassed California's previous record price for a residence, set by businessman Marc Andreessen in 2021 for the adjacent house.
The work stunned observers by achieving a sale price of $114,400, nearly nine times its low estimate of $12,600—an 804% increase. It ranked first among the top ten highest-value sales at the auction, outperforming works by David Hockney and Banksy.
This result signaled a growing institutional and collector recognition of Ando’s sculptural and conceptual practice, affirming his legacy beyond architecture.
Buildings and works
Tadao Ando's body of work is known for the creative use of natural light and for structures that follow natural forms of the landscape, rather than disturbing the landscape by making it conform to the constructed space of a building. Ando's buildings are often characterized by complex three-dimensional circulation paths. These paths weave in between interior and exterior spaces formed both inside large-scale geometric shapes and in the spaces between them.
Ando is right in the Japanese tradition: spareness has always been a part of Japanese architecture, at least since the 16th century; and it is not without reason that Frank Lloyd Wright more freely admitted to the influences of Japanese architecture than of anything American."
(2026). 9781350034112, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350034112 The smoothness of the concrete is achieved by the careful preparation of the casting moulds. Ando buildings are credited with the interior design use of exposed concrete. The use of prominent beams is perceived to be rooted in Japanese architectural history. The Rokko apartments and the Church of the Light earned Ando international recognition, and he was noted by those who detect a regional quality in concrete construction. (2026). 9781861899330, Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781861899330
Projects
Awards
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! Award !! Organization/location !! Country !! Date 1979 1983 1985 1989 1992 1993 1994 1995 1995 1996 1997 1997 2002 2002 2003 2005 2010 2012 2013 2013 2021 2024
Art
Although widely known for his architecture rooted in Japanese minimalism and spiritual abstraction, Ando has also pursued a parallel path in sculpture and conceptual art. His artistic works reflect a continued exploration of silence, emptiness, and the sacred geometry of form—ideas present throughout his buildings.
One of his most significant sculptural endeavors is the sculpture Table of Pirosmani project, a meditative work conceived as a tribute to a metaphorical collective grave of fallen dreams. Central to this project is a series of acrylic cubes filled with preserved blue roses—symbolizing longing, dreams, and impermanence. The blue rose, historically a symbol of the impossible or the unattainable, becomes in Ando’s hands a quiet metaphor for unfulfilled desire, unloved hidden lives, and forgotten beauty.
In 2018, Ando created a rare prototype titled Blue Rose in the Cube Study 1, a single rose suspended in a minimalist acrylic block. This piece marked the conceptual genesis of the full-scale Table of Pirosmani and remained in private collection until it appeared at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Online auction on March 12, 2025.
Exhibition Information
An exhibition titled Tadao Ando: Youth will be held from March 20 to July 21, 2025, at VS., a cultural apparatus located within Grand Green Osaka Ume-kita Park in Osaka, Japan.
Literature
External links
Categories: 1941 Births, Living People, People From Minato, Osaka, 20th-century Japanese Architects, 21st-century Japanese Architects, Kyoto Laureates In Arts And Philosophy, Pritzker Architecture Prize Winners, Osaka University Of Arts Alumni, Academic Staff Of The University Of Tokyo, Columbia University Faculty, Recipients Of The Royal Gold Medal, Recipients Of The Order Of Culture, Recipients Of The Praemium Imperiale, Members Of The Académie D'architecture, Commandeurs Of The Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres, Japanese Male Boxers, Honorary Members Of The Royal Academy, Recipients Of The Legion Of Honour, Recipients Of The Aia Gold Medal, Domus Editors, Compasso D'oro Award Recipients, Boxers From Osaka, Architects Of The National Diet Library
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