Tadao Ando

And Critical Regionalism

Grace Henry- 61017
Amana Ismail- 61007
Light changes expressions with time. I believe that the architectural materials do
not end with wood and concrete that have tangible forms but go beyond to
include light and wind which appeal to our senses . . . The detail is an element
which achieves the physical composition of architecture, but at the same time,
it is a generator of an image of architecture.
- Tadao Ando
Born September 13, 1941

Place Minato-ku, Osaka, Japan

Nationality Japanese

Occupation Architect

Awards Alvar Aalto Medal, 1985

Carlsberg Architectural Prize,
1992
Pritzker Prize, 1995
RIBA Royal Gold Medal,
1997
AIA Gold Medal, 2002
Neutra Medal for
Professional Excellence,
2012
 Tadao Ando spent his early years as a professional boxer and truck driver, until he changed
course, taught himself architecture and eventually became one of the Great Fathers of
contemporary architecture. The first building to bring real attention to Japanese architect
Tadao Ando (b. 1941), six years after he founded his studio, was his iconic Azuma House /
Rowhouse in Sumiyoishi, completed in 1976 in Osaka.
 Regional Criticism
Universalization- an advancement of mankind, at the same time constituted a sort
of subtle destruction, not only of traditional cultures, which might not be an
irreparable wrong, but also of what I shall call for the time being the creative
nucleus of great civilizations and culture, that nucleus on the basis of which we
interpret life, what I shall call in advance the ethical and mythical nucleus of
mankind.
Mankind approaching en masse a basic consumer culture
There is a paradox: how to become modern and to return to sources: how to
revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization.
- Paul Ricoeur
"Universal Civilisation and National Cultures, 1961"
 Sensibilities

From Self Enclosed modern

Architecture toward Universality,
Customs

“I selected to apply the vocabulary

and techniques developed by an
open, universalist Modernism in an
An open,
enclosed realm of individual internationalist
lifestyles and regional vocabulary of
Aesthetic
awareness
differentiation.” Modernism

An enclosed Modern Architecture- Distinctive

restoration of the unity between culture
house and nature that Japanese
houses have lost in the process of
modernization Social
traditions of
a given race
 Concrete- most suitable material for realizing
surfaces created by rays of sunlight... where walls
become abstract, are neglected and approach the
ultimate limit of space.
The paradox of spatial limpidity emerging out of
light as being peculiarly pertinent to the Japanese
character
Precision and density of detail are both crucial to
the revelatory quality of his forms under light.

Architecture of this kind is likely to alter with the

region in which it sends out roots and to grow in
various distinctive individual ways

Koshino house- plan

Transparent Logic

Architectural creation involves contemplating the origins and essence of a project's functional
requirements and the subsequent determination of its essential issues. Only in this way can the architect
manifest in the architecture the character of its origins . . . When logic pervades the design process the
result is clarity of structure, or spatial order - apparent not only to perception but also to reason. A
transparent logic that permeates the whole transcends surface beauty, or mere geometry, with its
intrinsic importance.
Abstraction
At the core of architectural creation is the transformation of the concreteness of the real
through transparent logic into spatial order. This is not an eliminative abstraction but,
rather, an attempt at the organization of the real around an intrinsic viewpoint to give it
order through abstract power.

In the Row House (Azuma Residence), Suniyoshi, I took one of three wood row houses and
reconstructed it as a concrete enclosure, attempting to generate a microcosm within it.
The house is divided into three sections, the middle section being a courtyard open to the
sky. This courtyard is an exterior that fills the interior, and its spatial movement is reversed
and discontinuous. A simple geometric form, the concrete box is static; yet as nature
participates within it, and as it is activated by human life, its abstract existence achieves
vibrancy in its meeting with concreteness...
Nature
I seek to instill the presence of nature within an architecture austerely constructed by means of
transparent logic. The elements of nature - water, wind, light, and sky -bring architecture derived from
ideological thought down to the ground level of reality and awaken man-made life within it.
Today, unfortunately, nature has lost much of its former abundance, just as we have enfeebled our
ability to perceive nature. Contemporary architecture, thus, has a role to play in providing people with
architectural places that make them feel the presence of nature.
When water, wind, light, rain, and other elements of nature are abstracted within architecture, the
architecture becomes a place where people and nature confront each other under a sustained sense
of tension. I believe it is this feeling of tension that will awaken the spiritual sensibilities latent in
contemporary humanity . . .
Place

The presence of architecture - regardless of its self-contained character – inevitably

creates a new landscape. This implies the necessity of discovering the architecture which
the site itself is seeking . . .
The architectural pursuit implies a responsibility to find and draw out a site's formal
characteristics, along with its cultural traditions, climate, and natural environmental
features, the city structure that forms its backdrop, and the living patterns and age-old
customs that people will carry into the future.

Only in this way can architecture repudiate the realm of industrial technology to become
'grand art' in its truest sense.
 Elaborate approach
Hall is placed underground beneath a large oval lotus pond
A path of white sand winds up the hill behind the existing temple
and leads to an opening at one end of a long straight freestanding
wall.
Another wall, behind the first, follows the curve of the pond beyond
it.
The path continues between the two walls and then doubles back

Water along the edge of the pond to the point from which a stair descends
straight down into its centre.
This approach to the sanctuary brings the visitor to a red- washed,
Temple pillared hall.
A Buddha is placed in the center of the hall with its back to the
west, where a single corner opening allows the entry of natural
light.
At the end of the day, light suffuses the hall in a reddish glow, and
the pillars cast long shadows in the underground space.

• A new main hall for Hompukuji, an existing Buddhist temple.

• Located on the northeastern part of Awaji Island
• On a hill that affords a sweeping view of Osaka Bay.
To reach the temple one has to pass through the original temple
compound and cemetery before passing through two very high
curved concrete walls. On turning the corner the water pool was
immediately in front after the rather long journey to get there it
was somewhat surprising to finally see it all at once.

Walking down the stairs, through the water, leads to the sacred
temple beneath which is set within a circular timber room
painted blood red. Natural light from one end of the pool above
illuminates the Buddha and creates an amazing atmosphere.
 Construction year: 1991
Architect(s): Tadao Ando Architect & Associates
City/Town: AWAJI
Country: Japan
 Japanese temple architecture

Torii or gateways
Pagoda
Kondo or main hall
Covered gallery
Interior walls with frescoes of Buddha
life stories
Library
Residences of monks and students
Taking time to walk across the
stepping-stones and to pass
through the gates also facilitates
introspective contemplation and
spirituality, as passing through the
gates and each step enhances
one’s removal from reality...

...Culture and place are further

incorporated into Ando’s
architecture through his
appropriation of the rôji, or the
circuitous path that lead to the
tea pavilion in traditional
Japanese gardens.
In Buddhism, rôji is the “path
leading away / From the
mundane world, / And a way to The rôji, in an effort to generate “the feeling of
clear the heart” for enhanced gradual separation and liberation” from the
contemplation and reflection. tangible world, is labyrinth-like, incorporating
multiple elements to help separate the devout
from the physical world....
Three parts of impression

The first impression of Tadao’s

architecture is its materiality. His
large and powerful walls set a limit.

Second impression of his work is

the tactility. His hard walls seem
soft to touch, admit light, wind and
stillness.

Third impression is the emptiness,

because only light space surrounds
the visitor in his building.
He has three characteristics in his design concept, which are:

use of almost perfect geometric shapes,

the blending of nature and architecture, and
his endless studies of glass and concrete.
Talking about the design, The still concrete
walls withstand the surrounding takes a
special attention. The exposed concrete is
hard, smooth surfaces like aluminum or steel
and huge windows covered with smooth glass
surface.
He said that “the light produce a beauty,
Architectures’ a medium that enables man to
sense the presence of nature.”
The sensory experience which Ando has designed begins as we approach
the temple and begins to glimpse the smooth surface of the cement wings
shielding the pool among the bushes and trees, and a long white gravel
path.
At the top of the hill, the two wings further complicate the path to the
entrance to the main hall, requiring the visitor to take a tortuous route
offering a variety of views over the sea and then over the temple.
The lotus pool is actually the roof of the temple, which is built partly
underground; and a stairway which cuts the oval shape of the pool in two.
In something more than a simple inversion of the conventional ascent to the holy place, 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.
After descending the narrow staircase flanked by the cement walls so typical of Ando's works, the visitor
finally reaches the sacred space, where everything is enveloped in a warm vermilion red - an unusual use of
colour by the architect.
Access to the sanctuary is not immediate: once again, basic geometrical elements oblige the visitor to take a
route which only gradually leads to the place of worship, offering continual surprises along the way.
Ando has taken the oval shape of the pool underground and made it into a sacred enclosure within which he
has organised different spaces, dividing the area in two with the long stairway and assigning half of it to the
sanctuary and the other half to the adjacent rooms.
The sanctuary is bounded by two semicircular walls enclosing a wooden structure built on the traditional
model of Shingon temples, with a statue of Amida Buddha in the centre.
The sacredness of the room is accentuated by the use of colour and light: natural light from a single source
filters through a grating behind the statue of the Buddha and floods the nave, warming up the vermilion red
in which the room is painted.
The plastic and spatial results achieved here make the Hompuki temple one of the high points of Ando's
career, expressing a universe of symbolism and colour formerly unknown to him which has enriched his way
of expressing the character of Japanese space.
Benesse House
The Benesse House is a place
“Coexistence of nature, art and architecture.” where people can explore art,
nature, architecture, and their own
thoughts in a multi-layered and
synergistic fashion.
 Architect : Tadao Ando
Location : Naoshima, Japan
Project Year : 1992

By amalgamating the latin terms for "well" and

"being" and pronounced ben-essay.
 Designed by Tadao Ando, the facility is built on
high ground overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and
features large apertures that serve to open up the
interior to the splendid natural surroundings.
 Next, Fukutake
decided what he
Britain's most famous really needed were
land artist, Richard five Monet
Long made one using waterlilies, which he
local mud for one duly purchased,
Split between several commissioning Ando
suite. Iconic Japanese
wings and settings, set to build a
artist Yayoi Kusama
on a green hilltop and subterranean
created one of her
running down to a slim museum to house
signature giant polka-
sandy beach, Benesse them, together with
Then along came dotted pumpkins for
House is filled with two site specific
philanthropist art the abandoned stone
Fukutake's spectacular works by American
collector Soichiro jetty; it soon became
private collection, master of light
Fukutake who took the island's unofficial
including several site sculpture James
a radical decision to emblem.
specific works, some of Turrell.
revitalise Naoshima them in guest rooms.
Until 20 years through art,
ago, Naoshima building a museum
was a sleepy he called Benesse
island where House.
locals made a
living from
fishing,
harvesting salt
and smelting for
Mitsubishi. Evolution of Benesse House from Naoshima island
The Benesse house consists of four buildings;

The oval The park

The The
(opened (opened
museum beach
in 1995) in 2006)

The oval itself measures 40 meters on its long axis and 20 meters on the shorter
one.
Long ramps, stairs, and passages to traverse.
Natural light from outside pouring in through apertures, weaving together the
indoors and outdoors.
• With an oval plan and only one level.
• Luxury accommodation with rooms and café .
• The central courtyard also has a large pool with an oval shape measuring 20
by 10 meters on its long and short axes, respectively.
• The museum’s artworks are found in all parts of the building.
• The ultra modern structure has a close relationship with its geography and
nature.
• The space serves as a very modern museum and hotel yet it has such a direct
connection with nature and lets in a ton of natural light.
• Tribute to the region and the history that goes with it.
• Sense of calmness and simplicity that is seen in the architecture, as it draws
upon the traditions and culture of the island of Naoshima.
• The ultra modern structure
has a close relationship with
its geography and nature.
• The space serves as a very
modern museum and hotel
yet it has such a direct
connection with nature and
lets in a ton of natural light.
• Tribute to the region and the
history that goes with it.
• Sense of calmness and
simplicity that is seen in the
architecture, as it draws upon
the traditions and culture of
the island of Naoshima.
Connection with nature
The streaming of natural light allows for the
traditional serenity that surrounds the
region to come into play.

There is a sense of calmness and simplicity

that is seen in architecture, as it draws
upon the traditions and culture of the
Japanese island.

These buildings have a breath of freshness

which translates into the locals relating with
them and tourists being able to understand
the city through them as they stand
assertively telling the tale of the context:
the region where they belong to.
Located on the side of a hill, it was part of a complex of buildings that brought museums, galleries,
conference facilities, a hotel and a restaurant all onto one site.
The extension, which was 40 meters higher up at the top of the hill, is linked to the existing core of the
unique Benesse complex by numerous walkways as well as a funicular monorail.
With an oval plan and only one level, the building is set in the heart of a forested area that boasts a
lovely variety of plant and tree life.
The annex also offers vista points from which to appreciate the lush vegetation and spectacular views
of the Seto Inland Sea.
It forms a sort of liquid sculpture and is enclosed by a portico that could be used as an outside gallery.
In addition to exhibiting the painting, sculpture, photography, and installations in its collection, the
Museum also contains permanent site-specific installations that artists have created especially for the
building, selecting locations on their own and designing the works for those spaces.

Museum or art
as a whole?
The site is perched atop a narrow promontory on the southern tip of the island and overlooks the gently lapping
waves below.

The museum is oriented and designed so that visitors can reach it directly from the ferry landing. After crossing a
wharf, guests arrive at a terraced square that is the entrance to the complex itself. The terrace doubles as a stage for
outdoor events and houses the entrance to an underground annex of the building. Only once you have ascended the
stairway with stone walls does the main nucleus of the museum become visible.

Upon ascending or descending the ramp, visitors pass through the main entrance of the building and access a large,
two-storey subterranean gallery that is about fifty meters long and eight meters wide. The wing containing the hotel,
the gallery and graded terrace all face the coast, allowing the serene seascape with boats and dazzling sunsets to
sweep into the interior of the building.
Ando’s architecture is a work of art which manifests its existence not only by
functions (as to accommodate art, people, etc.) but also by forms and beauty.

Within a single architecture I seek to engage overwhelming fiction with reality, and
create defamiliarized space whose fiction informs the everyday. By introducing such
contradiction to architecture, do we not find architecture capable, at last, of
offering true richness?
(Ando, 1996, p.9)
“Thinking in Ma, Opening Ma” (“Ma” means “space” in Japanese)
 Invisible architecture

Construction wise,
Benesse House Museum
has a unique structure
because “more than half
of the building’s volume
sits underground so as not
to intrude on these scenic
surroundings”

Ando explains that in order to follow the regulations of protecting surrounding

nature, he thought of an alternative concept, “invisible architecture”.Ando continues
that “by making architecture almost invisible [from outside], it would offer ‘spaces’
rather than a building so that the visitor of the museum could appreciate nature and
art freely, and at the same time, artworks would also be in a less restricted
atmosphere”
The Oval- the doughnut shape structure
enables a 360 degree view like an observatory,
and the opening in the center would resemble
a planetarium in a starry night.

This concept, taking a natural light as a part of

architecture, is not a new concept for Ando.
However, this element is particularly crucial to
this museum.

In this building, “light and darkness” play a

critical role. For instance, the museum’s light
source is entirely depended on natural light.
The Church Of Light
(Baraki,Osaka,1988-89)

Is located in a residential suburb 40km to the north-

east of the centre of Osaka.
It consist from a rectangular concrete box crossed at
15 degrees angle by freestanding wall.
The bisecting wall obliges the visitor to turn to enter
the chapel.
In an unusual configuration, the floor descends in
stages toward the altar, which is next to the rear wall,
whose horizontal and vertical opening form a cross,
flooding the space with light.
Right from the exterior one
is able to appreciate the
honesty and authenticity of
material. The purity that is
found in the details is
astounding. The reinforced
concrete is void of any and
all ornament that is not part
of the construction
process. 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. So
much so, that the seams of
the concrete form work
align perfectly with the
It possesses such a modest character that speaks of peace and tranquility. Its
crosses extrusion on the
facade is a whisper, with only straight defined lines and one overall texture of
east side of the church.
by the concrete. Its introverted design serves as a physical connection
between the congregation and the religion because the outside world is
forgotten and the spiritual is seen inside this place. One of the slits that
interrupts the facade is a cruciform that is cut into the concrete behind the
altar.
 The purpose of the manipulation of the
circulation sequence is realized as one
passes through the wall. At this
particular point one pivots around as
they become totally aligned with the
crucifix of light at the opposite end of
the chapel. By keeping the amount of
openings to a minimum, the power of
the light emanating from the crucifix is
intensified.

Tadao Ando has reduced religious paraphernalia to that simple

cruciform extrusion, which is often criticized as disturbingly
empty, void, and undefined. This is no surprise as minimalist
design is often misread as little exertion put into the product.
However, there is a whole level of design aesthetic implemented
by Ando and his contractors that is priceless to a keen eye.

The church of the light, a small space of around 100 square meters, has the ability to raise awareness just by its genus loci.
This is because the intricate play of void and light makes such a small room appear to be linked to such a great entity. The
concrete itself adds to the darkness of the church by creating a more humble, meditative place of worship.
He intersected intangible light and solid concrete in a manner that creates awe, befitting for a place of worship. It is almost
hypnotizing and bewitching, separating the sinner from the saint within. In addition, the light is not just from fenestrations on
the wall but also from the cleft between the wall and the ceiling. The shadow created is nothing short of spectacular.

The light from the cross and calculated slits on the

building dematerialized the interior concrete walls and
transforms the dark volume into an illuminated box. This
has a surreal effect that perpetually changes material
into immaterial, dark into light, light into space.
 • Frampton, Kennet, Modern
Architecture; A Critical History, (1980)
• Jencks, Charles, Theories and
Bibliography Manifestoes of Contemporary
Architecture, (2006)
The End