Koshino House
Introduction
Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect. He was born in Osaka and acquired knowledge of architecture self-taught, reading and traveling through Europe, Africa and the United States.
He has a twin brother, although they were raised separately.
In his youth he was an amateur boxer, later hanging up his gloves to dedicate himself to architecture. Contrary to most architects today, Ando did not receive training in architecture schools. Instead, his learning was self-taught, coming from reading and traveling through Africa, Europe, and the United States, as well as a close study of traditional Japanese architecture in Kyoto and Nara (Nara). Says:.
In 1970 he established himself in Osaka with "Tadao Ando Architect & Associates", a company with which he began his production, first of houses and small buildings, and then with more important buildings. In 1976 he received an award from the Japanese Architecture Association for his Azuma House, in Osaka. Public opinion is attracted to Ando from that moment on, which is consolidated with the construction of his design for the Rokko Housing I housing complex in Kobe. In 1980 he built the Koshino House in the city of Asiya. Among his most important works are the Chapel on the Water (1985) in Tomanu, Hokkaido,[1] the Church of Light, in Ibaraki, Osaka,[2] the Children's Museum (1990) in Himeji.[3].
He is considered one of the leaders of critical regionalism, rejecting the indiscriminate use of modern architecture in all cultures of the world. His work combines forms and materials of the modern movement with traditional Japanese aesthetic and spatial principles, especially in the way buildings are integrated into their natural environment. One of its characteristics is the use of smooth concrete, with visible formwork marks, to create tectonic wall planes, which serve as surfaces to capture light.
In his designs Ando rejects the consumerist materialism of today's society, which is visible in many architectural works. This does not prevent him from using the characteristic materials of the current era in his projects, although using them in a way that appears simple and at the same time provides positive sensations, which he achieves, among other resources, through shapes, light or water. To do this, it is generally based on geometric patterns that serve as a guideline for the organization of its spaces.
On the other hand, Ando studies formulas to solve or improve the urban chaos that exists in many Japanese towns. This aspect is approached from a double perspective, one of criticism and the other of sensitivity and understanding.