Tadao Ando
Published 20 December 2020
The gist: For Tadao Ando, enclosure creates a place for the individual within society. His thick concrete walls give privacy a physical form, making the relationship between people and their surroundings central to his architecture.
Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect who was born in 1941. He is mostly self-taught. Ando won the 1995 Pritzker Prize and is known for having donated the prize money to earthquake victims.
Ando’s works are famous in Japan and further afield. In 2008, he designed the Stone Hill Center in the US state of Massachusetts, and it effectively combined diverse materials such as wood and steel.
Stone Hill Center, USA. Photo by Pilotgirl.
The Suntory Museum in Ando’s home city of Osaka in Japan is also known for its striking design and its multi-purpose nature, with everything from an art display space to a mall contained within its round structure. He combined rocky water pools with gentle use of glass and cement for his design of the Museum of Literature in Japan in the 1990s.
The Suntory Museum, Osaka, Japan.
I create enclosed spaces mainly by means of thick concrete walls,” he once said. “The primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. – Tadao Ando
Ando’s portfolio is characterised by repeated and innovative usage of thick and heavy construction materials, such as steel and glass. He has spoken at length about the effects that these materials can have, especially in relation to privacy.
