Presentation on Pritzker Prize winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando and his works.

1. —TADAO ANDO
“People tend not to use this word
beauty because it's not intellectual -
but there has to be an overlap between
beauty and intellect.”

2. TADAO
ANDO
PRESENTED BY : RASHMI GAUTAM

3. C O N T E N T S
01 INTRODUCTION
02 STYLE
03 MAJOR PROJECTS 04 CONCLUSION

4. INTRODUCTION
• Tadao Ando (安藤 忠雄, Andō Tadao, born 13
September 1941) is a Japanese self-taught architect
whose approach to architecture and landscape was
categorized by architectural historian Francesco Dal
Coas "critical regionalism” .
• He worked as a boxer and fighter before settling on
the profession of architecture, despite never having
formal training in the field.
• Struck by the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Imperial
Hotel on a trip to Tokyo as a second-year high school
student, he eventually decided to end his boxing
career less than two years after graduating from high
school to pursue architecture.
• He attended night classes to learn drawing and took
correspondence courses on interior design.

5. • He visited buildings designed by
renowned architects like Le
Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louis Kahn.
• He returned to Osaka in 1968 to
establish his own design studio,
Tadao Ando Architects and
Associates where he found success in
his designs for houses—he has
completed over 100 residential
projects—and has since worked on
increasingly large and international
projects,
• with a special focus on public
buildings including religious structure
and museums.

6. • 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 earthquake.
• Known for his sensitive, assured use of reinforced concrete,
Japanese architect Tadao Ando produces works of
architecture through the deft manipulation and framing of
light, space, and water.
• Ando was self-taught, seeking out instruction through
apprenticeships with carpenters, designers, and planners as
well as independent reading and travel to visit major works
by European and American architects in Japan and abroad.

7. STYLE
• Ando was raised in Japan where
the religion and style of life strongly
influenced his architecture and design.
• Ando's architectural style is said to
create a "haiku" effect, emphasizing
nothingness and empty space to
represent the beauty of simplicity.
• He favors designing complex spatial
circulation while maintaining the
appearance of simplicity.
• He emphasizes the association
between nature and architecture and
intends for people to easily experience
the spirit and beauty of nature through
architecture.

8. • Since his childhood days spent making wood
models of ships and airplanes, Tadao has been
interested in the shapes of structures and also the
form of nature.
• As a kid, Tadao "watched how trees grew, altered
by how the sun hit [them], changing the qualities
of lumber."
• After visiting temples and shrines in Kyoto and
Nara and studying traditional Japanese
architecture there, he "came to understand the
absolute balance between a form and the material
from which it is made.“
• Traveling to Europe and the U.S., he analyzed the
Western world's greatest buildings where he kept
(and still does today) a detailed sketchbook
storing his ideas and possibly his future works.
ANDO’S SKETCH OF THE MODERN MUSEUM ART, FORTWORTH

9. ANDO’S SKETCH OF THE CHURCH ON WATER

10. ANDO’S SKETCH OF THE 152 ELIZABETH STREET, NEW YORK CITY

11. • The spaces he designs are invariably poised between abstract and
concrete, artifice and nature, myth and reason, ordinary and symbolic,
simplicity and complexity, autonomy and relationship.
• 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.
• While he is concerned with individual solutions that have a respect for
local sites and contexts Ando’s buildings link the notion of regional
identity with a modern imagining of space, material and light.

12. MASTER OF LIGHT
• Ando’s complex choreography of light fascinates most when the
viewer experiences the sensitive transitions within his
architecture.
• Sometimes walls wait calmly for the moment to reveal striking
shadow patterns, and other times water reflections animate
unobtrusively solid surfaces
• Shoji walls with diffuse light are reinterpreted in the context of
another culture, for instance, filtered through the lens of Rome’s
ancient Pantheon, where daylight floods through an oculus.
• Ando’s masterly imagination culminates in planning spatial
sequences of light and dark.

13. • Ando’s elegant slits between wall
and ceiling generate a poetic
rhythm of light during the course
of the day.
• Mainly restrained as a channel for
diffuse daylight, they break the
concrete surfaces and separate
vertical from horizontal,
intensifying the spatial depth. e
moment of crescendo is short but
intense.
• It emerges when the rays of
sunlight run very close along the
wall and produce a layer of striking
shadows.

14. THE HILL OF BUDDHA, SAPPORO (2015)
The prominent image of the Pantheon
reappears later for the at the Makomanai
Takino Cemetery in Sapporo. When
approaching the end of the tunnel leading to
the rotunda, the Oculus turns into an
impressive halo for the head of Buddha,
showing the skillful composition of various
brightness levels, space and vistas. The blue sky
encircles and transcends the massive white
statue. The cool, grey concrete for walls,
ceilings, and floors constructs an intense
homogeneity in Ando’s architecture. Thanks to
this consequent language he has achieved
independence from the bright white cubes of
modern Western.

16. THE CHURCH OF LIGHT, OSAKA (1989)
The religious building is a pure concrete box,
severed violently by a wall forming an angle
of 15° and with no windows in it except for a
big cross-shaped cut in the short side
symbolising the encounter between man and
nature.
In this building Ando teaches us the
elementary and refined use of material. The
only materials used are the light, concrete in
the walls and plain timber in the floor and
benches.
“I have always used natural materials in those
parts of a building that came into contact
with the human hand or foot, because I am
convinced that substances such as wood
and concrete are invaluable materials for
architecture and that one becomes aware of
the true quality of architecture through the
body.”

17. • It consists of a rectangular volume of
three cubes punctured by a wall at a 15-
degree angle that never actually
touches the other walls or ceiling of the
chapel.
• An architecture of duality – the dual
nature of existence.
• The cruciform cut on the eastern wall
allows light to enter the darkness
induced by the use of concrete.
• A remarkable example in the
architecture of minimalism creating a
humble abode of peace and tranquility.
• The use of concrete and the effect of
light is so well thought that it stimulates
the user to forget the outside world,
giving a sense of oneness within the
society.

18. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, NAOSHIMA
The Museum of Contemporary Art on the
island of Naoshima Okayama, Japan, is a
lesson in subtle harmony between artifice
and nature.
As Masao Furuyama writes: “The building
radiates a sense of liberation. It displays a
powerful centrifugal will, as if – released
from the rigid order of geometry – it
would fly out roundly into nature,
pursuing freedom. Walls, terraces, and
plazas of natural stone – placed at a
scattered point on the site to effectively
draw our awareness to the tranquil
scenery – act as the nuclei of centrifugal
forces that inscribe diverse tracks of
movement across nature, traces not
unlike the wakes left by boats on a distant
sea. The motif of this building is the
harmony between nature and geometry.

19. THE OVAL AT BENESSE ART MUSEUM, NAOSHIMA

20. JAPANESE PAVILLION FOR EXPO 92, ASHIYA-SHI (1992)
The aim of the pavilion was to acquaint people in
the rest of the world with the traditional
aesthetic of japan, an aesthetic based on
unadorned simplicity and to reinterpret wood
architecture with leading-edge contemporary
technology and create a building that embodied
tradition and modernity, technology and culture.

21. KOSHINO HOUSE
Tadao Ando’s design for the Koshino House
features two parallel concrete rectangular
confines. The forms are partially buried into
the sloping ground of a national park and
become a compositional addition to the
landscape.
Placed carefully as to not disrupt the pre-
existing trees on the site, the structure
responds to the adjacent ecosystem while
the concrete forms address a more general
nature through a playful manipulation of
light.

22. HYOGO PREFECTURAL MUSEUM OF ART, KOBE (2002
The Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art, located in southern Japan, houses sculptures,
prints, and paintings, some relating to the earthquake that devastated the region in
1995. The concrete structure, in Ando’s signature minimalist style, officially opened in
2002.

23. THE NAGARAGAWA CONVENTION CENTER (1995)

24. THE NAGARAGAWA CONVENTION CENTER (1995)

25. LANGEN FOUNDATION, NEUSS, GERMANY

26. 21-21 DESIGN SIGHT, MINATO, TOKYO

27. 21-21 DESIGN SIGHT, MINATO, TOKYO

28. PULITZER ARTS FOUNDATION, MISSOURI, USA (2001)

29. OSAKA CULTURARIUM AT TEMPOZAN, OSAKA

30. OSAKA CULTURARIUM AT TEMPOZAN, OSAKA

31. ROKKO HOUSING 1 2 3 ROKKO (1983)
Rokko housing I and II were proposed with a
slope of 60 degrees south and located at the
edge of the Rokko mountains in Kobe. The project
idea was not only overcome the constraints of
the site, but the benefits of this deployment and
its unique views.
The houses were built with strong relationships
between public and private spaces, through the
concept of public traffic and terraces, and the
residents. In turn, each household seeks to
reaffirm its own individuality, different spaces,
terraces, views, and relationships between them.

32. ROKKO HOUSING 1 2 3 ROKKO (1983)

33. CHAPEL ON WATER, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

34. CHAPEL ON WATER, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

35. THE MODERN MUSEUM ART, FORTWORTH (2002)

36. THE MODERN MUSEUM ART, FORTWORTH (2002)
Completed in 2002, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas is a glass,
metal, and concrete building that was designed to filter natural light into the
interior spaces. The structure is surrounded by a reflecting pool, as well as 11
acres of lush green land.

37. THE HE ART MUSEUM, FOSHAN, CHINA (2020)

38. THE HE ART MUSEUM, FOSHAN, CHINA (2020)
Inspired by Ancient Chinese cosmology philosophy, western style’s use of
light”, Tadao Ando created a place of harmony. The project filled with
natural light flowing from the central “sky well” to the exhibition spaces,
generates an atrium with double-helix staircases that reinterprets
contemporary traditional Chinese architectural principles. Creating mainly
circular exhibition spaces, Ando drew inspiration from the waterside
pavilions found in the Lingnan’s heritage

42. PUNTA DELLA DOGANA ART MUSEUM, VENICE
Commissioned by François-Henri Pinault, CEO of the French luxury
conglomerate Kering, Ando restored and renovated Venice’s Punta della
Dogana art museum in 2009. Situated at the intersection of the Grand Canal
and Giudecca Canal, the structure is the city’s former customs building.

43. Omotesando Hills, a shopping and residential complex in Tokyo,
was completed in 2005. Already located on the city’s most
fashionable street for retail, the building has space for 130
stores, most of them underground, illuminated by natural light
from the atrium above. The building, which sits opposite a
grove of zelkova trees, has a translucent glass façade fitted with
colorful LED displays.
OMOTESANDO HILLS, TOKYO

44. It is a sensorial experience representing a radical change in the age-old tradition of
Japanese temple architecture where Ando employs a series of different
architectonic spaces conceived as a succession of theatres for initiation. Walking
between the lotus flowers, one feels that this is a place which transcends day-to-
day life, a place where the combination of architecture with nature and the
reverberation of the placid mirror of water naturally lead to meditation and
asceticism.
THE WATER TEMPLE, AWAJI-ISLAND, JAPAN

45. THE WATER TEMPLE, AWAJI-ISLAND, JAPAN

46. HYOGO PREFECTURAL MUSEUM OF ART, KOBE

47. HYOGO PREFECTURAL MUSEUM OF ART, KOBE

48. HYOGO CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

49. 4 X 4 HOUSE, KOBE

50. TADAO ANDO’S STUDIO, OSAKA

51. FIVE LESSONS FROM TADAO ANDO
1
His career is a lesson in rigor and restraint. Every line he traces is dictated by reason and has a logical
structure.
His architecture is simple, but crystallizes the complexity and richness of the world. It is always
attentive to the formal and climatic conditions of place, to traditions and the “consciousness of
nature”.
His goal is to incorporate into architecture numerous ‘scenes’ in the process of giving direct expression
to materials, simplifying forms, and pursuing an integrated style.
He seeks to introduce nature into a man-made order and to create a place where encounters between
human beings or between a human being and a material object may take place.”
2
3
4
5
He always takes the most basic, everyday standpoint and try to elevate everyday spaces to the level
of symbolic spaces.

52. AWARDS
1985
Alvar Aalto Medal
1992
Carlsberg Architectural
Prize
2002
AIA Gold Medal
2012
Neutra Medal for
Professional Excellence
1995
Pritzker Prize
1997
RIBA Gold Medal

53. THE HE ART MUSEUM, FOSHAN, CHINA (2020)
Tadao Ando's architecture transports us to places of calm and
serenity. His constructions are perfectly connected to the
nature surrounding them; spaces where the concepts of
interior and exterior disappear completely. Judging by his
magnificent buildings, we could say the uniqueness of his
projects makes him an atypical architect.
Tadao Ando combines shapes and materials of the modern
movement with the aesthetically-pleasing, spatial tradition
of Japan. His buildings and the natural environment
surrounding them go perfectly together. In this way, the
landscapes are always breathtaking.
This architect is fascinated by materials in their natural form.
That’s why his preferred material is exposed concrete with
visible formwork marks.
He is a great twentieth century architect from whom we
have much to learn.
CONCLUSION

54. “I don't believe architecture has to speak too
much. It should remain silent and let nature in
the guise of sunlight and wind”
-Tadao Ando

55. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo,
including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik
THANK YOU
ANY QUERIES?
For queries, reviews and suggestions, find me at
075bar039.rashmi@pcampus.edu.np

56. BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEMPLATE
● Streets of Japan Google Slides theme & PowerPoint template (slidesgo.com)
INFORMATION
● Tadao Ando – Wikipedia
● Ando, Tadao - Buildings and Projects – WikiArquitectura
● 13 Examples of Modern Architecture by Tadao Ando | Architectural Digest
● Gallery of A Contemplative Journey Through Tadao Ando's Conference Pavilion - 4 (archdaily.com)
● When Sunlight Meets Tadao Ando’s Concrete | ArchDaily
● The Serene Architecture of Tadao Ando - Decor Tips
PHOTOGRAPHS
● Tadao Ando | Tag | ArchDaily
● Tadao Ando: 25 Best Works Every Architect should know about - RTF (re-thinkingthefuture.com)
● The Serene Architecture of Tadao Ando - Decor Tips