Portal for Japanese minimalist architecture

Tadao Ando Architect & Associates is a practice established by a self-taught architect Tadao Ando. Born in 1941, he is one of the most renowned minimalist architects whose projects are often praised as bringing out the “haiku” effect – praising simplicity by emphasizing nothingness. At an early age, he worked as a boxer before becoming interested in architecture.

Although he never received any formal training in the field, he went to night drawing classes and learned interior design. Before establishing his practice, Tadao Ando traveled to various parts of the world to visit buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, allowing him to get familiar with architecture even more.

Tadao Ando’s style is highly influenced by Japanese culture and the “zen” feeling, making his projects quite simple on the outside with the use of concrete. However, this weightlessness and simplicity often evoke a surge of spiritual and aesthetic emotions.

For that, many of his projects were spiritual spaces, such as one of his most notable works – the Church of the Light. He’s also renowned for highlighting the relationship between architecture and nature. It’s his wish that people understand the beauty and spirit of nature through architectural spaces.

Therefore, it’s no wonder natural light and structures that already exist in nature inspire most of his works. Some of his other noteworthy works are Row House in Sumiyoshi, which awarded him with the Annual Prize of Architectural Institute of Japan in 1979, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, the Oval at Benesse Art Museum Naoshima, Chichu Art Museum, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, etc.

Tadao Ando is a 1995 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest architecture’s honor. He donated the money from the award to the orphans of the devastating Kobe earthquake. His other awards include Gold Medal of Architecture, Academie d’Architecture, Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects in 2002, and many more.

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