Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando is a distinguished japanese architect whose work, in my opinion, is utterly breathtaking. Simple in nature - though not to be confused with simplistic - the architect intentionally uses limited forms and materials to structure space and light in dynamic sequences.

""My intent is not to express the nature of the material itself," Ando has noted about his buildings, "but to employ it to establish the single intent of the space." With a refined formal vocabulary and an acute sensitivity to the effects of subtle atmospheric change, Ando creates spaces that produce what he has called "a maximum effect of equilibrium." Such spaces provide sanctuary from the chaos of daily life."

                                

It isn't surprising that Tadao Ando's was the first name that came to mind upon learning that for my studio course this semester, my character was "The Timeman". Light will play an incredibly important role in my design as contemplated in my previous blog post! Coincidentally, or perhaps it was fated, Ando has also perfectly articulated this notion of light supplementing architecture, in a manner that transcends beyond the various architectural philosophical arguments I've been presented with thus far. I think this is called "the Eureka moment".

"Light is the origin of all being. Light gives, with each moment, new form to being and new interrelationships to things, and architecture condenses light to its most concise being. The creation of space in architecture is simply the condensation and purification of the power of light." 

-Tadao Ando

These philosophies resonate deeply with me as a designer, especially whilst I begin to discover and develop my own design language. Let them serve as a guiding light throughout my foray into architecture.