Ando by Masao Furuyama is the definitive compact introduction to Tadao Ando — the only architect to have won the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto prizes — examining a body of work built on concrete, water, light, and an uncompromising relationship between building and landscape.
About This Book
Tadao Ando occupies a singular position in world architecture. Self-taught and deeply rooted in Japanese spatial tradition while remaining in rigorous dialogue with Modernism, he developed a building aesthetic unlike anything that preceded it. Critic Drew Philip described his buildings as land art that struggles to emerge from the earth — a characterisation that captures Ando's commitment to embedding architecture in its natural and cultural context. This volume surveys his work across private homes, churches, museums, apartment complexes, and cultural institutions in Japan, France, Italy, Spain, and the United States, offering a structured entry point into a career defined by material restraint and spatial intensity. For students and architects alike, it is an essential reference on one of the great living figures of architectural design.
Key Features
- 96 pages surveying Ando's built work across residential, religious, cultural, and civic typologies
- Text by Masao Furuyama
- Projects spanning Japan, France, Italy, Spain, and the USA
- Published by Taschen
What You'll Discover
- How Ando synthesises Japanese spatial tradition with Modernist principles to produce an aesthetic that belongs entirely to neither
- The role of concrete, wood, water, and natural light as primary architectural materials — not finishes, but structural to the spatial experience
- The breadth of Ando's typological range, from intimate private homes to large-scale museums and cultural institutions across multiple continents
- Why critics and peers regard his work as land art: the deliberate tension between built form and the earth from which it appears to emerge
About the Author
Masao Furuyama is an architectural scholar whose work focuses on Japanese architecture and its intersections with Western Modernism. His writing on Tadao Ando draws on close familiarity with the architect's spatial philosophy and built output.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 96
- Dimensions: 260 x 210mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783836535496
- Publisher: Taschen
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architecture students, Japan-focused design researchers, and practitioners drawn to the intersection of Modernism, materiality, and landscape.