Tadao Ando (1988)

Tadao Andô: Self

Photos 

Quotes 

• Tadao Andô : I'm always asking myself if I'm happy being an architect. Often I think I should be a craftsman because I truly enjoy making things with my hands. As an architect, I can't build a house on my own. I need to give my drawings to carpenters and craftsmen. The moment I give my drawings away, I start to worry because I'm not participating in the process.

• Tadao Andô : The difference between my architecture and Western architecture lies in the understanding of nature. We Japanese accept nature and live in harmony with it. Western people try to protect themselves from nature. In my mid-thirties, I first began to think of the possibility of creating an international architecture that could only be conceived by someone Japanese.

• Tadao Andô : Unfortunately, I think that Japanese contemporary architecture has not incorporated the good qualities of tradition Japanese culture. Since World War Two our culture has been heavily influenced by the West. Many old and good things have been lost along the way. I'm not talking about external things, such as form or material, but a way of thinking. What interests me most is to find a way to continue these traditional Japanese concepts and values and thereby pass them onto the next generation.

• Tadao Andô : Japanese architecture relies very much on craftsmen and carpenters. You learn architecture with your body. You draw your working drawings and build while making changes at the site. Craftsmanship is the essence of Japanese architecture.

• Tadao Andô : Destruction is also a condition of creation.