70 Quotes by Tadao Andō

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.

In Architecture there is a part that is the result of Logical Reasoning and a part that is created through the Senses. There is always a point where they Clash. I don't think Architecture can be created without that Collision.

No matter how advanced society becomes, institutionally or technologically, a house in which nature can be sensed represents for me the ideal environment in which to live. From a functional viewpoint, the courtyard of the Rowhouse in Sumiyoshi forces the inhabitant to endure the occasional hardships. At the same time, however, the open courtyard is capable of becoming the house's vital organ, introducing the everyday life and assimilating precious stimuli such as changes in nature.

As long as you have an objective in your mind you are young.

It wasn't that I had any great dream of being an architect. I just wanted to make things. Whether it was furniture, painting, interior design, or architecture. I just wanted to create something.

I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.

In all my works, light is an important controlling factor.

My objective is to design a space that nobody else can come up with while using the material that anyone can use.

I think architecture becomes interesting when it has a double character, that is, when it is as simple as possible but, at the same time as complex as possible