Ando. Complete Works 1975–Today. 2019 Edition

Perfection in Simplicity. Tadao Ando’s complete works from 1975 until today

This fresh overview of Tadao Ando’s oeuvre spans the breadth of his career, from his beginnings in 1975 to today. Based on the massive XXL edition, this accessible volume sheds light on the Modernist master through photographs and architectural drawings, and includes such new projects as the Shanghai Poly Theater and the Clark Center at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Discover the completely unique aesthetic of Tadao Ando, the only architect ever to have won the discipline’s four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize.

Philippe Starck defines him as a “mystic in a country which is no longer mystic.” Philip Drew calls his buildings “land art” as they “struggle to emerge from the earth.” His designs have been described as haiku crafted from concrete, water, light, and space. But to Ando, true architecture is not expressed in metaphysics or beauty, but rather through space that embodies physical wisdom.

This thoroughly updated edition spans the breadth of his entire career, including such stunning new projects as the Shanghai Poly Theater and the Clark Center at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Each project is profiled through photographs and architectural drawings to explore Ando’s unprecedented use of concrete, wood, water, light, space, and natural forms. Based on the massive XXL monograph, this edition brings the architect’s definitive career overview to an accessible format.

The artist

Tadao Ando (born in 1941) is one of the world’s most renowned contemporary architects. At first a boxer, he decided to pursue architecture two years after graduating from high school. He is the only one to have won the discipline’s four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize. Ando currently works from his native Osaka.

The author

Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard, and edited Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years. His TASCHEN books include the Architecture Now! series and monographs on Tadao Ando, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Shigeru Ban, Oscar Niemeyer, and Zaha Hadid.