Tadao Ando, a self-taught Japanese architect was born in Minato-ku, Osaka in 1941. After being a boxer for a short period, Ando began his self-education by apprenticing with several professional designers and city planners. He attended night classes to learn drawing and took correspondence courses in interior design.
At the age of 18 he visited temples, shrines, and tea houses in Kyoto and Nara, observing the traditional architecture in the area. In the 1960s he travelled to Europe and the United States to analyze great buildings and document his observations in a detailed sketch book.
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. Today he is known as one of the famous architects.
He has been awarded numerous times. Some of his awards include: Alvar Aalto Medal in 1985; Pritzker Prize in1995; RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1997; AIA Gold Medal, 2002 and Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence in 2012.
At the age of 18 he visited temples, shrines, and tea houses in Kyoto and Nara, observing the traditional architecture in the area. In the 1960s he travelled to Europe and the United States to analyze great buildings and document his observations in a detailed sketch book.
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. Today he is known as one of the famous architects.
He has been awarded numerous times. Some of his awards include: Alvar Aalto Medal in 1985; Pritzker Prize in1995; RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1997; AIA Gold Medal, 2002 and Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence in 2012.
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The Top 10 Most Famous Works of Tadao Ando Architects are as follows:
1. Tomishima House, Osaka
Tomishima House, Osaka was built in 1973. It was the first project he completed after establishing his architect firm. He stated, “I walled in the site along its periphery to create an inner sanctuary undisturbed by the noise of the surroundings.”
Mohammad Gharipour in an article entitled, “A Postmodern Experience? The Case of Japanese Architecture” expressed, “By designing the Tomishima House in Osaka in 1973, Tadao Ando was introduced to the society of Japanese architects. In contrast to the dominant trend, called the ‘new wave’ of Japanese architecture, he attempted to reexamine and modify the formal geometric structural ideas of modernism. Ando did this by introducing metaphysical concepts and producing fantasy effects in architectural design. Inspired by the Japanese classical architecture in Osaka and Tokyo, Ando was very concerned about a more balanced, humanistic, and poetic approach to architecture.”
2. Row House/Azuma House
Built in 1976, Row House which is made of exposed concrete replaced the middle unit of three row houses in a downtown district of Osaka. Ando, who sees himself as a “fighter-architect”, designed a concrete box amidst the dilapidated wooden row houses that crowded the central areas of Osaka and created a highly self-sufficient living space.
3. Koshino House
Koshino House, a holiday home that Ando built for fashion designer Junko Koshino near Osaka in 1980. The house is made up of two parallel constructions that are partly set into the steep slope on which they are situated. An underground corridor connects the two buildings.
The courtyard in the middle brings the various elements together and helps with the illumination of the house. A design studio extension consisting of fractured circular segments was added as a third element in 1984, stretching back up the hillside.
4. Time’s 1 & II
Time’s 1 began in 1984 and Time’s II in 1991. They are located in Kyoto, Japan. Tadao Ando was hired by the owner to remodel his building. Times 1 building is half-submerged in the level of the street, which is almost at the same level with the river. The building is a small 3-story block, topped with a metal dome. The corridors along the side facing the river collect the pedestrian flow of the street.
Access to the Time’s II is made through a small corridor at the back of the neighboring plot, which is located in the opposite corner. Both buildings are interconnected through corridors and bridges.
