“You cannot simply put something new into a place.

You have to absorb

what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that
knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see.”
-TADAO ANDO
 TADAO ANDO
 Born September 13, 1941
 Place Minato-ku, Osaka, Japan
 Nationality Japanese
 Occupation Started as a boxer than became Architect
 Awards Alvar Aalto Medal, 1985
Carlsberg Architectural Prize, 1992
Pritzker Prize, 1995
RIBA Royal Gold Medal, 1997
Kyoto Prize, 2002
AIA Gold Medal, 2002
Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence, 2012
etc.
Concept
 When conceptualizing his structures, Tadao Ando
took inspiration from Zen philosophies as an
underlying constant, with the interplay of nature
and artificial structures often resulting in complex
three- dimensional designs that come together to
form large geometric shapes which transverse
both interior and exterior spaces – intended to
represent the dual nature of existence.
Zen philosophy
 Zen school of thought is one of the most significant
Japanese philosophies that focuses on the concept of
simplicity and concentrates on inner feeling rather than
outward appearance. It is often equated with minimalism.
Zen influences are vividly seen in Ando’s work and became
its distinguishing mark.
 In order to practice the idea of simplicity, Ando's architecture
mostly comprised 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.
 His style is said to create a "haiku" effect. Which emphasizes
nothingness and empty space to represent the beauty of
simplicity.
PHILOSOPHY
 Creative use of Natural Light
 Creates enclosed spaces mainly by thick concrete walls.
 Generally, exposed concrete and glass is used as main
building component.
 Uses monochrome colour scheme.
 Purity in geometric forms.
 structures follows natural forms of the environment.
 complex three-dimensional circulation paths.
 Tries to use forces of the area where he is building, to
restore the unity between house and nature (light and wind).”
List of his noticeable buildings-

1. CHURCH OF LIGHT
2. CHICHU ART MUSEUM
3. CHURCH ON THE WATER, HOKKAIDO
4. AZUMA HOUSE
5. KOSHINO HOUSE, ASHIYA JAPAN
6. NARIWA MUSEUM OF ART MUSEUM
7. ROKKO HOUSING
8. NAOSHIMA CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM, NAOSHIMA,
JAPAN
9. INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
(2002)
10. NAGARAGAWA CONVENTION CENTER
KOSHINO HOUSE, ASHIYA JAPAN
 Located at the foot of the rokko mountains, in
ashiya city, east of kobe.
 Completed in two phases (1980-81and 1983-84).
 The koshino house was originally made up of two
parallel rectangular concrete boxes.
Site location- ASHIYA JAPAN
 Consists of two different-
sized concrete boxes,
arranged in parallel to
accommodate existing
trees.
 An underground corridor
links the two boxes, which
flank a courtyard.
 The forms are partially
buried into the sloping
ground of a national park
and become a
compositional addition to the
landscape.
 In the second phase, a fan
shaped extension which
now contains the Atelier
was added.
 One unusual feature of
this house is that the
visitor approaches it from
above, and is fully aware
of the plan of the house, if
not its specific function
from outside.
 It was Renovated in the
year 1983
 Ground Floor Plan
 1. Atelier


 2. Living room

 3. Bed rooms

 6 Identical rooms,
is aligned Like le
corbusier’s
monastic Cells at
sainte- marie-de-
la- Tourette.
First Floor Plan
1.Study
2. Bedroom
3. Terrace
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNS USED IN THE KOSHINO
HOUSE

• Brutalism/ Brutal
architecture
• Asymmetrical Balance
• Minimalism
• Non separated
• Alignment
• Scale & Proportion
3D view
VIEWS
CHURCH OF THE LIGHT, 1999.
LOCATION: Ibaraki, Osaka,
Japan
CONTEXT:
• Tightly-packed residential
neighbourhood
• Very small space
• Location influences form.
• L-shaped wall separates
church from busy
surrounding.
• No good views, so the
windows are minimal – only
the distinctive narrow cross
window and a window
opening into the L-shaped
wall
SITE PLAN
SUNDAY SCHOOL

• Size of its site :

838.6 sqm.
• The size of the
building itself :
113.3 sqm (which is
roughly the size of
a small house).
CONCEPT
 The Church of light is an
architecture of duality the dual
nature of co existence solid
/void/dark, stark / serene
 The concrete construction is a
reinforcement of Ando’s principle
focus on simplicity and
minimalistic aesthetic.
 Ando’s decision to place the
cross on the east façade allows
for light to pour into the space
throughout the space and into
the day , which has a
dematerialising effect on the
interior concrete walls
transforming the dark volume
into a illuminated box.
 PLAN & SECTION
 Based on very simple elements
like rectangular boxes and
intersecting planes, Ando
modelled the churches using light
and space.
 The main church, is a 6 x 6 x 18
m box, laterally crossed by a wall
rotated 15 degrees from the main
axis of the nave.
 This diagonal wall also contains a
1.60 x 5.35 m glass sliding screen
and the gateway to the room,as in
a traditional Japanese shoji.
 Behind the altar there is a cross-
shaped opening, bathing the
interior space with the power and
energy of light.

CROSS
ORIENTATION MAIN CHAPEL

 The main chapel is orientated towards

the south east direction.
 This is done so that the morning rays of
the sun enter directly into the chapel.
 The access to the compound was made
intentionally indirect, unlike many
churches in the West.
 Visitors are forced to enter the complex SUNDAY SCHOOL
at the northeast corner From there one
enters to a tiny little square, which
houses a circular bench. Through This
space organizes the accesses to the
main church and adjacent chapel.
Lighting inside the church
THE CHICHU ART MUSEUM

 Location: Southern portion

of the island of Naoshima,
Japan
 Year of Construction:
2004
 Limiting the architecture
to an underground
structure
 No external design rising
out of the ground
Concept
Why underground?
 site is a place where national
forest abounds.To preserve
the existing atmosphere and
beauty of the site
the museum is wisely buried
underground.
 It is possible to create almost
any form underground as
there are no axes or
directions as exist above
ground.
 Challenge was to achieve a
highly complex and varied
sequence of “lightscapes”
within a configuration of
simple,geometrical forms.
MATERIAL USED

 Concrete
 Steel
 Glass
 Wood
VIEWS
BASIC FEATURES OF HIS
BUILDINGS
o Play with natural light
Kidosaki house o

Azuma house Travel museum

Exposed concrete structure

Meditation space
o Pure Geometric shapes

Suntody
Museum

Chiktatsu
Asaku
Water temple The church of light

Chichu art museum

  Respect for nature

Collina del Buddha

Church of light
Naoshima hotel

Water temple

I do not believe Architecture

has to speak too much. It
should remain silent and let
nature in the guise of sunlight
and wind. - Tadao ando
 Honesty Of Material

• Works with smooth-as-silk

concrete
• Works with the thin, fragile
transparency of glass
• He does not veneer, rather he
uses the brutal beauty of
concrete formwork to texture
his buildings, inside and out
o Interlocking and overlaping

Suntory museum

Church of light Water temple Suntory Museum

o Play with mases and voids-

Poly Grand Theater

House in Monterrey

Hyogo museum
o Avoids direct entry to the interior
In most of the
buildings a additional
façade for barrier was
constructed to prevent
the direct entrance.
o Scale and proportion
o Large glass window

Tadao provided large

Modern art museum

openings with glass
façade so that the interior

Church on water
of the space can
commune with the
landscape

Residential building
Suntory museum
o Spatial relationship(relation between indoor
and outdoor spaces)
Design Features to be used

 Innovative use of natural light

 Minimalistic design
 Play with mass and void
 Purity in materials
 Proper use of nature
 Maintain Connectivity between building and nature.
 Exposed concrete structure
 Openness in indoor spaces
 Large scale
 Relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Materials to be used-
o Concrete
o Glass
o Steel
o Timber
o Earth
o aluminium
 Submitted by-
ANANNYA JHA
16122006