Ando
Summary
- Japanese architect who was born in poverty and eventually learned architecture on his own by borrowing books and visiting buildings by renowned architects.
Details
- After the Kobe earthquake in 1995, even though over 200,000 buildings were destroyed, every single one of his 35 buildings were standing.
- His style is marked by clean and simple lines, and fitting in with the natural lines of the land surrounding them.
References
Quotes
Ando had good reason to be nervous. He didn’t have any formal training as an architect. Born in poverty in the early 1940s, he was raised by his grandmother in a nagaya—a small, one-story row house made of wood. As broken windows left them shivering through icy winters, Ando escaped to the small carpentry shop across the street. He spent countless afternoons and evenings building wooden boats, blowing glass, and working with metal. He dreamed of creating his own buildings. Without the means to go to college, Ando decided to learn architecture on his own. While doing odd jobs to pay the rent, he scrutinized the structures around him. He borrowed architecture books from friends and read about the evolution of materials, techniques, and styles. He honed his drawing skills by tracing directly over sketches of buildings until the pages were black.
Eventually, Ando had taught himself enough to earn an architecture license. By the time the earthquake hit Kobe in 1995, he had designed dozens of buildings there—on an active fault line. Tragically, when the aftershocks subsided, more than 6,000 people had lost their lives. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed and over 200,000 buildings were in shambles.
Arriving heartbroken, Ando somberly surveyed the devastation. He ventured over roads that had split in half and maneuvered around power lines that were still in flames. He climbed through the rubble of ten-story buildings that had crumbled to the ground. Remarkably, not a single one of Ando’s 35 buildings had collapsed. As he inspected them, he couldn’t find even a visible crack. Tadao Ando is the only architect ever to win all four of the field’s most
prestigious prizes. Known as the master of light and concrete, he’s revered for pioneering minimalist, sturdy structures—from homes to temples to museums—that amplify the natural world around them. His buildings have been described as earthquake-proof, and his designs have been called visual haikus.