Row House in Sumiyoshi

A slamming sound followed by a loud, angry voice broke the silence of the night. I turned my head towards the voice. A man in a white shirt holding a thick black binder was about to give another blow to the young man in a construction worker’s uniform and a hard hat. The furious man wasn’t big or tall but had a threatening presence complemented by his thick voice and a strong Osaka accent. Suddenly he turned and approached me. “Are you Fura-san (my pseudonym used in the ’80s)? I’m Tadao Ando.” He politely bowed once and examined the fixtures I was installing on the first floor of the empty new building which had been designed by this renowned architect. “They’re beautiful… look like surfboards. Do you surf?”

This was how I first met the architect Tadao Ando in 1984. A month after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts (formerly known as Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) I was commissioned to design the interior of Ando’s new building in the center of Osaka. Strangely enough, Ando, known as the most perfecting of all architects in the world, didn’t bother to meet the young unknown sculptor before giving him this opportunity. He had only seen some schematics and a model before my sculptural fixtures arrived in Osaka from Tokyo.

Many things about Tadao Ando are unusual for a “typical” architect. He is the only self taught architect from Japan to have received worldwide acclaim. A former pro boxer who has fought all over in Asia became an architect feared by construction workers and assistants alike. He once threw an ashtray at his staff, who all had master degrees, almost punched Dr. Peter Eisenman, not to mention that poor construction worker… But above all, the most unexpected thing about Ando is his architecture. How can a man with such a temper possibly create buildings with such serenity and awe?

Like his twin brother whom he didn’t grow up with (Ando was raised by his grandparents), Tadao Ando started to fight professionally when other kids of his age were going to colleges. Later when his brother started graphic design Ando wanted to do something similar. During their early 20’s, the brothers designed most of the night clubs owned by Yamaguchi-gumi (better known as Yakuzas), the most powerful crime family in Japanese history.

Then Ando gradually picked up small architecture projects neglected by other aspiring architects with degrees. He executed each project with uncompromising attention down to the tiniest details. Most amazingly this young boxer had an incomparable aesthetic that most Japanese architects at that time couldn’t match. His breakthrough came with an incredibly small building with the smallest of budgets. The tiny row house in Sumiyoshi built in 1976 (Azuma House) earned the 34-year-old Ando world-wide recognition.

The next day after my encounter with Tadao Ando I visited his firm. He appeared somehow shy, but his extraordinary willpower could be felt in the air. We spoke about sculpture and architecture. Unfortunately I don’t remember much except a few remarks which have stuck in my mind over the years. One was, “An architecture always needs to be big enough to contain a person, but size is not a parameter in sculpture. A one centimeter sculpture could become a masterpiece.” There was another one, “When I have to build something on a tiny piece of property, I feel like I’m back in the boxing ring. A small project becomes a life or death matter.”

Ando was a genius at bringing out so much from a small space. He also told me that the life of a building only starts after it is built, and he had to take care of the building as long as it remained. And because of that he didn’t accept many projects outside of Osaka.

Today clients and admirers of Tadao Ando include the most powerful figures in various fields of design; Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Rolf Fehlbaum (Vitra), to name a few. The scale and budget of each project is often infinite, and the design has become more stylish and elegant than ever.

Is the hungry fighter still alive? Sadly, I’d say no. As Ando’s bio has become relatively normal and his behavior calmer, his architectures have started to lose something that his earlier works used to have. I cannot hear the heartbeat of a fierce fighter emitting from a beautiful mass of concrete any more… or was it just a ghost that I heard when I had my own boiling ambition?

ー世界的な建築家の安藤忠雄氏との思い出に残る出会いー

Written by:

A sculptor living in New York

3 Comments

  • Yukiko

    先月、安藤先生の講演会に行ってきました。2016年オリンピックに向けて、東京湾埋立地に森をつくって競技場にしてしまう「海の森」を構想中です。イメージとしては隈研吾先生の進行中のプロジェクト、タンカゴルフクラブ(Italy)のようなものが競技場クラス(というか山!)の大きさになって、東京湾に浮いているといった感じでしょうか?確かに、住吉の長屋や光の教会のような目うろこな作品は見られなくなったかもしれませんが、私が驚いたのは作品よりも彼のそのバイタリティーというか…。執念(?)というか、情熱というか。
    開催前の講演会の入り口で、東京都のStaffといっしょに募金活動を始め、開演前までロビーにて本の販売を兼ねたサイン会。講演が終わったら、また販売兼サイン会を開始…。と一生懸命資金繰りしてました(笑)。
    彼の構想は都の予算を遥かに上回るのでしょうか?あるいは、皆で資金を出し合う連帯感を作りたかったのでしょうか?多分両方だと思いますが、日本を誇る偉大な建築家でありながら自ら行動して日本中を駆け巡る彼の姿には、言い知れぬ驚きを覚えました。「自分の欲しいものは自分の手でつかむんや~!」といった声無き声が聞こえてきそうな…。海外から帰国されたばかりで、少しお疲れ気味でしたが。
    蜷川幸雄(実花さんのお父様)先生も講演会に同席していましたが、とても素敵な方でした…。

  • Nobi

    バイタリティー、執念は勿論ですが、エゴというのが一番大きいでしょう。ただねぇ、あの人の場合、果たして本当に大きいプロジェクトが向いているのかという疑問があります。昔からアーティストみたいなスタンスがはっきりとあったタイプの建築家だから、『大きいことはいい事だ』という罠にはまってしまい易かったのかもしれません。

    因みに隈さんは、僕が中学の時の(あの人は高校生でしたが)バスケ部の先輩でした。割と背が高いですよね。

    面白い話を有り難うございました。浦島太郎の気分です、ハイ 😀

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