Tadao Ando of Osaka, Japan is a man who is at the pinnacle of success in his own country. In the last few years, he has emerged as a cultural force in the world as well. In 1995, the Pritzker Architecture Prize was formally presented to him within the walls of the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, France. There is little doubt that anyone in the world of architecture will not be aware of his work. That work, primarily in reinforced concrete, defines spaces in unique new ways that allow constantly changing patterns of light and wind in all his structures, from homes and apartment complexes to places of worship, public museums and commercial shopping centers.

“In all my works, light is an important controlling factor,” says Ando. “I create enclosed spaces mainly by means of thick concrete walls. The primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. When the external factors of a city’s environment require the wall to be without openings, the interior must be especially full and satisfying.”

And further on the subject of walls, Ando writes, “At times walls manifest a power that borders on the violent. They have the power to divide space, transfigure place, and create new domains. Walls are the most basic elements of architecture, but they can also be the most enriching.”

Ando continues, “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. I create architectural order on the basis of geometry squares, circles, triangles and rectangles. I try to use forces in the area where I am building, to restore the unity between house and nature (light and wind) that was lost in the process of modernizing Japanese houses during the rapid growth of the fifties and sixties.”

John Morris Dixon of Progressive Architecture wrote in 1990: “The geometry of Ando’s interior plans, typically involving rectangular systems cut through by curved or angled walls, can look at first glance rather arbitrary and abstract. What one finds in the actual buildings are spaces carefully adjusted to human occupancy.” Further, he describes Ando’s work as reductivist, but “… the effect is not to deprive us of sensory richness. Far from it. All of his restraint seems aimed at focusing our attention on the relationships of his ample volumes, the play of light on his walls, and the processional sequences he develops.”

In his childhood, he spent his time mostly in the fields and streets. From ages 10 to 17, he also spent time making wood models of ships, airplanes, and moulds, learning the craft from a carpenter whose shop was across the street from his home. After a brief stint at being a boxer, Ando began his self-education by apprenticing to several relevant persons such as designers and city planners for short periods. “I was never a good student. I always preferred learning things on my own outside of class. When I was about 18, I started to visit temples, shrines, and tea houses in Kyoto and Nara, there’s a lot of great traditional architecture in the area. I was studying architecture by going to see actual buildings, and reading books about them. “ He made study trips to Europe and the United States in the sixties to view and analyze great buildings of western civilization, keeping a detailed sketch book which he does even to this day when he travels.

Tadao Ando, a 53 year-old architect who lives and works in Osaka, Japan, was named the eighteenth Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In making the announcement, Jay A. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, which established the award in 1979, quoted from the jury's citation which describes Ando's architecture as "an assemblage of artistically composed surprises in space and form ... that both serve and inspire ... with never a predictable moment as one moves throughout his buildings.

"Ando is the third Japanese architect to be selected for his profession's highest honor which carries a $100,000 grant. The formal presentation was made on May 22 in the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, France.

Pritzker affirmed the jury's choice, saying, "Ando conceives his projects as places of habitation not as abstract designs in a landscape. It is not surprising that he is often referred to by his professional peers and critics as being as much a builder as an architect. That emphasizes how important he considers craftsmanship in accomplishing his designs. He requires absolute precision in the making and casting of his concrete forms to achieve the smooth, clean and perfect concrete for his structures."

Even though nearly all of his projects make use of cement as the primary building material, he was a carpenter's apprentice for short time where he learned the craftsmanship of traditional Japanese wooden construction. In fact, one of his most widely known structures was built almost entirely of wood, the Japanese Pavilion for Expo '92 in Spain.

Most of Ando's projects have been in Japan, concentrated mainly in the Osaka area where he was born, raised and currently lives and works. In addition to a number of inspiring religious structures, he has designed museums, commercial buildings that include offices, factories and shopping centers. His professional career began, however, with residential projects.

One of his first commissions was for a small row house in 1977 in his native Osaka, called Azuma House, which received the top prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1979. He has designed a number of significant homes—for single and multiple families—sometimes for mixed commercial/residential use, as well as apartment complexes. 

Bill Lacy, executive director for the international panel of jurors that elects the Laureate each year, quoted further from the formal citation from the jury which states, "Ando has accomplished an extraordinary body of work. His powerful inner vision ignores whatever movements, schools or styles that might be current, creating buildings with form and composition related to the kind of life that will be lived there.

Tadao Ando is that rare architect who combines artistic and intellectual sensitivity in a single individual capable of producing buildings, large and small, that both serve and inspire. His powerful inner vision, ignores whatever movements, schools or styles that might be current, creating buildings with form and composition related to the kind of life that will be lived there.

At an age when most architects are beginning to do their first serious works, Ando has accomplished an extraordinary body of work, primarily in his native Japan, that already sets him apart. Working with smooth-as-silk concrete, Ando creates spaces using walls that he defines as the most basic element of architecture, but also the most enriching. In spite of his consistent use of materials and the elements of pillar, wall, and vault, his different combinations of these elements always prove exciting and dynamic. His design concepts and materials have linked international Modernism to the Japanese tradition of aesthetics. His dedication and understanding of the importance of craftsmanship have earned him the appellation of builder as well as architect.

He is accomplishing his self-imposed mission to restore the unity between house and nature. Using the most basic geometric forms, he creates microcosms for the individual with ever changing patterns of light. But far more than achieving some abstract design concept, his architecture is a reflection of a fundamental process of building something for habitation.

Ando's architecture is an assemblage of artistically composed surprises in space and form. There is never a predictable moment as one moves through his buildings. He refuses to be bound by convention. Originality is his medium and his personal view of the world is his source of inspiration.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize honors Tadao Ando not only for works completed, but also for future projects that when realized, will most certainly further enrich the art of architecture.

The Grand Trianon and Chateau of Versailles, Versailles, France

Versailles is world famous as France's site of the most lavish palace and gardens, possibly the greatest monument to absolute monarchy and the culmination of French Classicism. In the twentieth century, it was the site of the signing of a treaty in 1919, ending the First World War.

Originally, a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII was on the site in 1624. Over most of the rest of that century, new structures were built and added by Louis XIV, who in 1682 made it not only the court residence, but also the seat of government. In fact, Versailles was the capital of France for nearly a century. The architects of the Sun King Louis XIV were Louis Le Vau in the early years, and then Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who added the enormous north and south wings, the Chapel and the famous Hall of Mirrors. Charles Le Brun supervised the decoration, and the landscaping was planned by Le Notre, who also designed the Tuileries Gardens. It was Louis XIV who had the small palace of stone and pink marble, known as the Grand Trianon, built in 1687 as a less formal retreat. Louis XV was still making additions to the Chateau in 1770 when he had Jacques Gabriel design the opera house.

The presentation of the Pritzker Architecture Prize to architect Tadao Ando was made by Jay A. Pritzker, president of the Hyatt Foundation, in the Grand Trianon which was being used for the occasion by special authorization of the President of French Republic. It is usually reserved for official French government functions.

Following the presentation, ceremony guests continued on to the south wing of the Chateau of Versailles for a formal dinner served in the Hall of Battles. This hall, some 390 feet long by 43 feet wide, and two stories tall, was opened by King Louis Philippe in 1837 and contains 33 large paintings of historic scenes depicting French victories, including the earliest by Clovis in 496 C.E. to the 1809 victory of Napoleon at Wagram.

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