Tadao Ando: Light and Water (THE MONACELLI P)

Tadao Ando, born in Japan in 1941, trained himself as an architect, reading and traveling extensively through Africa, Europe, and the United States. In 1970 he founded Tadao Ando Architect & Associates; since then the firm has become known for buildings that express a sense of contemplation and meditation in both form and material. Many of his buildings, typically constructed from concrete, define an enclosed space in which visitors can respond to the elements of light and water. Geometrically simple yet subtly and richly articulated, Ando's works share the serenity and clarity of traditional Japanese architecture. This new monograph focuses on the effect of natural elements on architecture, one of Ando's ongoing preoccupations. More than thirty projects are presented, from early houses in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan to major current works, including the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Also included are the Children's Museum, Hyogo, Himeji; the Church on the Water, Hokkaido; the Church of the Light, Osaka; the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum; the Nariwa Museum; the UNESCO meditation space, Paris; the Teatro Armani, Milan; and a private house in Chicago.

Kenneth Frampton is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University.