Ando. Complete Works 1975-Today

Consistent minimalism

The comprehensive oeuvre of Tadao Ando from 1975 to the present day.

Philippe Starck sees him as a "mystic in a no longer mystical land", while Philip Drew describes his buildings as "earth art", as they "strain to rise from the ground". It is no coincidence that Tadao Ando's distinctive architecture has won the four most coveted awards in his field: the Pritzker, the Carlsberg, the Kyoto and the Praemium Imperiale.

Blending Western and Asian aesthetics in a clean-lined concrete modernism while possessing a deep sense of environment and genius loci, Ando's buildings are often seen by his admirers as "concrete haikus composed of water, light and space".

This updated work provides an overview of his entire creative output, including recent projects such as the Poly Theater in Shanghai and the Clark Center in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Each project is illustrated with photographs and plans that highlight Ando's impressive play with light and shadow, interior and exterior, and volume and space. A comprehensive overview of a star architect in his own right, who prefers concrete but wants to make the "soul and beauty of nature" tangible through his buildings.

The architect

Born in 1941, Tadao Ando is one of the most outstanding contemporary architects in the world. Originally a boxer, he decided to study architecture two years after leaving school. He is the only person to have received all four coveted architecture prizes: Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale and Kyoto. Ando lives and works in Osaka, the city of his birth.

About the author

Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard and edited the French art magazine Connaissance des Arts for over twenty years. He has published the "Architecture Now!" series with TASCHEN as well as individual works on renowned architects such as Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid.