Boxing and Architecture

They are two different worlds—architecture in the realm of the creative and boxing in the realm of the purely physical. The one thing I can say is that in boxing you have to be courageous and take some chances, always taking one step deeper into your opponent’s side. You must risk moving into a dangerous area in order to fully take advantage of your skills and eventually win the match. Creating something in architecture—not just building something but creating something—also requires courage and risk, moving into areas that are not so known, taking that extra step forward. If you stay in your day-to-day lifestyle, just building buildings without thinking about why you build buildings and never questioning yourself, it doesn’t require courage. To create a form of architecture, something that may not look familiar, you have to take extra step into the unknown.


by Tadao Ando

Site And Memory

A site possesses its own physical and geographical character; at the same time it has layers of memory imprinted on it.

I always listen to that whispering voice of given place.

I think of it comprehensively with all of its forces—the visible characteristics as well as the invisible memories to do with the interaction between a locality and humankind.

And I try to integrate these into my building which shall carry that spirit on to later generations.

by Tadao Ando

What Concrete Is

It appears to be a very common material that is available everywhere, and because it is generally used in only one way we think of it as being very one-dimensional. However, concrete possesses many variables. Every concrete mix and pour has a different character. It is not like steel or glass, which has a more consistent nature. Concrete can vary greatly. Concrete has a depth of expression that changes with every use. Le Corbusier used concrete as if it were clay. He used its plastic quality almost as if he were sculpting. Louis Kahn used concrete as if it were hard steel. The same material—two very different effects.

There is also the rebar—the reinforcing bar—and this is very important. The rebar is like the bones of a human body. The concrete is like the flesh. I think of a poured-concrete building as a metaphor of the human body. If you have a thick bone and not enough muscle and skin, the bone will start to stick out. Or if you have too much skin with no sense of bone, the building will look fat and bloated. It is very important to maintain the precise space, the right amount of space between the rebar... Poured-in-place concrete is a kind of handmade building.

As you know, there are wide variations in color from white to gray to black. Concrete can be very rich in color. I see color there in terms of depth rather than surface. The gradations of color create a sense of depth. If you only look at color in terms of projecting out from the surface, then you fail to see the depth.

I am among a number of architects who use concrete because of the freedom it allows me. I like concrete because you can invent forms, which allows me to create new kinds of spaces... Concrete gives the illusion that it is easy to work with because you can pour a long wall relatively quickly rather than having to build it brick by brick.

by Tadao Ando

Concrete

I tend to think of concrete as being very hard and sharp.

I like the sharp edges and planes that can be made with concrete.

When they come into contact with nature they are like a powerful foil.

The precise order in contrast to nature can make both elements more dynamic.

However, over the years of using this material,

I have come to see different qualities of concrete.

Depending on the space I am trying to construct,

I may see it as just the opposite: softer and less severe.

I began as a craftsman and a builder working with my hands.

I still miss that now.

Working with your hands and muscles is important.

It is very important,

Very important to understand scale and weight and the voice of materials.

I don’t want to design impractical things that a human being cannot build.

Working with your hands teaches you very basic concept of beauty.

For example, I like concrete because it is handmade compared to some other types of modern building methods.

by Tadao Ando

Walls

A good wall, as you call it, is a matter of its physical relationship to people and the way it can create space around us, a system of spatial relationship. It is very basic, but something that people, including architects, often forget.

If you look at one wall in front of you, you can perceive it as an object.

If you see it from the side, you understand that it divides space.

If it then connects with another wall, you begin to see it as a container of space.

At that point, the wall functions as a shelter, protection, a sense of security from the elements. This is the most primitive function of a wall, but it is a part of any important architecture. Creating spaces that inspire a sense of well-being is the main goal of the building walls.

A wall must assert its presence in terms of its form and materiality, to make you understand that it has its own power or presence, but it must do so in a way that inspires and does not force or intimidate.

It is important to be forceful without being intimidating or overly elaborate.

by Tadao Ando

The Virtue of Simplicity

The aim of my design is, while embodying my own architectural theories, to impart rich meaning into spaces through things as natural elements and the many aspects of daily life. Such things as light and wind only have meaning when they are introduced inside a house in a form cut off from the outside world. The isolated fragment of light and air suggests the entire natural world. The forms I have created have altered and acquired meaning through elements of nature (light and air), which give indications of the passing of time and the changing of seasons, and through connections with human life. although many possibilities for different kinds of development are inherent in space, I prefer to manifest these possibilities in simple ways.

Furthermore, I like to relate the fixed form and compositional method to the kind of life that will be lived in the given space and to local regional society. In other words, I select solutions to problems in reaction to the prevailing circumstances.

by Tadao Ando