Arts & Philosophy

Tadao Ando

The 2002 Kyoto Prize laureate for Arts and Philosophy is Tadao Ando, a world-renowned Japanese architect who has pioneered new visions of a balance with nature in his work.

Ando has developed a unique mode of expression using unfinished reinforced concrete that is infused with the breath of nature. As one of Japan's leading artists, he has pushed the envelope of modern architecture and continues to open up new possibilities in the field on a global level.

Born in 1941 in Osaka, Ando is a self-taught architect who established his own office, Tadao Ando Architect and Associates, in 1969. In 1979, his Row House at Sumiyoshi (1976) was awarded the Architectural Institute of Japan's annual prize, thus sparking the attention of Japan's architectural community.

Suggestive of the traditional homes of common folk in Osaka, the Row House was a provocative reminder of what it means to live in a dwelling. The use of an inner courtyard, which requires residents to use an umbrella to pass from room to room on rainy days, caused quite a scandal at the time, but in fact the work transforms the characteristics of traditional row houses into a modern idiom, embodying Ando's desire to bring the natural world into urban residences.

Ando's aesthetic stance has always been to search for the relationship between modern life and architecture within the context of modernism, through which he has developed his own unique style. Concentrating his enthusiasm on fusing architecture with nature, he has on occasion mediated the relationship between the two by placing his structures underground. Despite the inherent foreignness of buildings in the natural world, his creations successfully integrate into their surroundings while maintaining a sense of strength. It is this synchronism of naturalistic influences from traditional Japanese architecture with modernist qualities that distinguishes Ando's designs.

In works such as the TIME'S building (1984, Kyoto); the Chapel on Mt. Rokko (1986, Kobe); the Church of the Light (1989, Osaka); the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum (1992, Naoshima); the Chikatsu-Asuka Historical Museum (1994, Osaka); and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, among others, he finds unique ways to bring fresh stimulation to modern architectural expression. Incorporating unadorned, reinforced concrete shaped with steel formworks, his designs are both straightforward and lyrical -- and have been enthusiastically received by architects all over the world for their success in bringing the special characteristics of Japanese architecture to life within a modern context. For this reason, his sphere of activity now stretches far beyond Japan. Much of Ando's work also strives to create an interplay between modern architecture and history, as evident in his Benetton Communication Research Centre (1992 and 2000, Treviso, Italy) and International Library of Children's Literature (1997-2002, Tokyo). His is an architecture born out of the interaction of nature, history, and culture.

Ando's works are imbued with an artistic excellence that is cherished worldwide. At the same time, he is strongly self-aware of the extremely significant social role that architecture plays, and has been actively involved in social causes. After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, he took the lead in providing support to the victims as the chairman of a ten-year committee formed by artists and other intellectuals dedicated to supporting reconstruction efforts. With characteristic and straightforward resolve, he has led the way for architects as they fulfill their community responsibilities through urban reconstruction activities. As part of those efforts, he continues his work with the Setouchi Olive Foundation, which is dedicated to restoring Teshima Island, where the natural environment has been ravaged by industrial waste. Ando's social service efforts serve as a model for the ways in which architects can positively contribute to the world in which we live.