He realized that he would become an architect at the age of 14, when he decided to build a floor above his grandmother's house in his native Osaka, in which, by the way, he still lives. As a child, he liked to watch the work of a neighbor's carpenter, whose workshop was located across the street: young Tadao was mesmerized by how a simple material takes shape in the hands of a person. In the same workshop, he glued models of ships and airplanes, and he also trained himself to observe how a tree grows, how the sun and water affect it, he knew how to recognize the quality of wood.
"They say that 15 years is a critical period in life. I had a great math teacher back then who really put his all into teaching. I was also impressed by the carpenters, who continued to work so desperately that they forgot about lunch. Mathematics and carpentry became my starting points in architecture. I could not enter the university. I couldn't even afford to go to architecture school. The only option for me was to study myself."
Tadao Ando in his youth at work
Ando was born in the pre-war period, and he had to learn several professions at an early age, such as a glassmaker and a truck driver. In his youth, he was seriously engaged in boxing and even thought about a professional career. And then I saw a book by Le Corbusier and a series of American Cars once in a second-hand shop and passionately wanted to buy them, for which I had to raise money first.
"I looked at his drawings so often until the pages turned black," he later recalled. Now these rare editions take pride of place on a shelf in his workshop in Osaka.
Tadao Ando's first project is Tomishima House, Osaka, 1973.
Unbelievably, Ando is self-taught. He studied architecture from books and during travels. As a person with a truly oriental worldview, he thinks the basis of his existence is contemplation. He needed to see with his own eyes the masterpieces of his favorite masters - Le Corbusier, Mies, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn. Therefore, at the age of 24, he went on a round-the-world trip for four long years and during this time visited many countries, including the USA and the Soviet Union.
"I was never a good student and always preferred to study the subject independently, outside the school walls. At the age of 18, I started visiting temples in Kyoto and Nara, cities that are famous for a large number of monuments of traditional Japanese architecture.
"Every Sunday I went and looked at the old buildings. The more you look at good buildings, the more love you have. That's how I got involved in architecture"
The lack of a degree did not prevent him from becoming a Pritzker Laureate in 1995 and winning a number of the most prestigious international awards, including the Alvar Aalto Medal and the Royal RIBA Gold Medal. He received the first of them - the prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan - for the concrete Row House, or Azuma House, in the Sumyoshi district of Osaka. He is currently completing the reconstruction of the Paris Stock Exchange commissioned by Christie's and Kering owner French billionaire Francois Pinault, with whom Ando has already reconstructed Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi in Venice.
Azuma House in Osaka. Ando installed the unpretentious concrete box in 1975-76 right among the old wooden houses of one of the central districts of the city. For this project, he received his first prestigious award. Photo: WikiArquitectura
Naoshima Island Museum of Modern Art, 1992. Photo: Getty Images
"I would like to create architecture that will exist forever, not in its form or essence, but as an eternal memory in people's hearts"
Tadao Ando. Church of Light, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan, 1989. Photo: © Copyright Richard Pare
"Light is an important factor in all my works. I create enclosed spaces with thick concrete walls. The interior, fenced off from city life, should be self-sufficient."
Tadao Ando. Church of Light in Osaka. Interior sketch, colored pencil, note paper, 1989. On permanent display at MoMA, New York
"Architecture is a word spoken by space. The concrete wall talks to the viewer. And this is a powerful word"
The staircase in the Akita Art Museum, designed by Tadao Ando in 1967. Photo: Chicagoblackhawksjersey.org
Tadao Ando. Sketch of Teatro Armani in Milan, pencil, paper, 2001.
"Architects pay too much attention to the external appeal of their buildings. They are trying to make their personal project, while it seems to me that architecture is a public project"
Tadao has a dog named Le Corbusier. Well, what else can I say?
And below is a video with the master. Do not switch!
