Tadao Ando is one of the best-known and most influential architects of the contemporary age. His work is unmistakably spiritual, even for a nonbeliever. Heavily influenced by Japanese traditions and primarily interested in using concrete as a building material, Ando leverages simplicity to make it easy for people to experience the spirit and beauty of nature, leaving out ornament in favour of emphasizing the buildings surroundings and embedding with the natural world. To Ando, sunlight, wind, and rain are expressions of the natural world, and geometry is also part of the underlying reality of life. Philip Jodidio provides insight into Ando s unique way of envisioning spiritual spaces, which intermingle simplicity with mystery and rationality with wild nature. The volume features thirteen places from the Hill of the Buddha in Sapporo, Japan, which is surrounded by thousands of lavender plants, to the Meditation Space in Paris, where one can pause for a moment of quiet reflection. The Church of the Light is marked only by a cruciform opening that leaves the spectator to contemplate the qualities of form, light, and space. At the Water Temple, an elliptical lotus pond appears behind a curved wall.

About the Author
Philip Jodidio is a specialist in contemporary architecture. As well as having been editor in chief of the French art monthly Connaissance des Arts for more than twenty years, he is the author of over one hundred books on architecture and art.


Book Information
ISBN 9780847872985
Author Philip Jodidio
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Rizzoli International Publications
Publisher Rizzoli International Publications