3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

ArchDaily Projects Churches Japan Tadao Ando Architect & Associates 1999 AD Classics: Church of the Lig

AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect &

Associates
01:00- 6 January, 2011 | by Andrew Kroll
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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

Architects
Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

Location Ibaraki,
Osaka, Japan

Architect
Tadao Ando

References galinsky.com, wikiarquitectura.com,

ando.tableseven.org

Project Year
1999

Photographs
Naoya Fujii, Antje Verena, Wikipedia

Text description provided by the architects (Simple Past Tense in Passive Voice). In the small town of
Ibaraki, 25km outside of Osaka, Japan, stands one of Tadao Ando's signature architectural works,
the Church of the Light (Simple Present Tense). The Church of the Light embraces Ando's
philosophical framework between nature and architecture through the way in which light can define
and create new spatial perceptions equally, if not more so, as that of his concrete structures (Simple
Present Tense). Completed in 1989, the Church of the Light was a renovation to an existing Christian
compound in Ibaraki (Simple Past Tense). The new church was the first phase to a complete
redesign of the site - later completed in 1999 - under Ando's design aesthetic. (Simple Past Tense)

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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

For Ando, the Church of Light is an architecture of duality - the dual nature of existence - solid/void,
light/dark, stark/serene (Simple Present Tense). The coexisting differences leave the church void of
any, and all, ornament creating a pure, unadorned space (Simple Present Tense). The intersection
of light and solid raises the occupants awareness of the spiritual and secular within themselves
(Simple Present Tense).

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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

The employment of simplistic materials reinforces the duality of the space; the concrete
structure removes any distinction of traditional Christian motifs and aesthetic (Simple Present
Tense). Besides an extruded cross from the east facing facade, the church is composed of a
concrete shell (Simple Present Tense in Passive Voice); the concrete adds to the darkness of the
church by creating a more humble, meditative place of worship (Simple Present Tense). As a
testament to minimalist architecture, the crosses void in the east facing wall is the only
prominent religious symbol present in the church. (Simple Present Tense)

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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

Formally, Ando's Church of the Light is minimalist and reductive of religious paraphernalia to a
simple cruciform extrusion (Simple Present), which is often criticized as disturbingly empty, void,
and undefined. (Simple Present)

Although it has been stated to be nothing more than six walls and a roof (Passive Sentences/Present
Perfect Continous), there is a whole level of design aesthetic implemented by Ando and his
contractors that is misread and unrecognized by the occupants. (Passive Sentence).

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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

As a modern, minimalist structure the Church of the Light emits an architectural purity that is found
in the details. The reinforced concrete volume is void of any and all ornament that is not part ofthe
construction process (Simple Present).

The seams and joints of the concrete are built with precision and care by master Japanese
carpenters, along with Ando, that have worked to create an immaculately smooth surface and
accurately aligned joints (Simple Past). So much so, that the seams of the concrete formwork align
perfectly with the crosses extrusion on the east side of the church. (Simple Present)

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3/15/2018 AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates I ArchDaily

The concrete construction is a reinforcement of Ando's principal focus on simplicity and

minimalist aesthetic (Simple Present); however, the way in which the concrete is poured and
formed gives the concrete a luminous quality when exposed to natural light (Simple Present).
Ando's decision to place the cross on the east faqade allows for light to pour into the space
throughout the early morning and into the day (Simple Present), which has a dematerializing
effect on the interior concrete walls transforming the dark volume into an illuminated box
(Present Progressive). Ando's approach to light and concrete in the Church of the Light, as
well as his other projects, has a surreal effect that perceptually changes material into
immaterial, dark into light, light into space (Simple Present).

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C.ZEBALLOS'07

"In all my works, light is an important controlling factor (Present Progressive). I create enclosed spaces
mainly by means of thick concrete walls (Simple Present). The primary reason is to create a place for the
individual, a zone for oneself within society (Present Progerssive). When the external factors of a city's
environment require the wall to be without openings, the interior must be especially full and satisfying
(Simple Present)." -Tadao Ando

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