Tadao Ando: Complete Works [Paperback]

Francesco Dal Co (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 1997

Tadao Ando (b. 1941) is one of Japan's leading architects and designers. This book is a complete monograph of Ando's work, examining in detail over 100 buildings and projects, illustrated by drawings, sketches, plans and other material from the architect's own studio. This exhaustive survey ranges from the smallest of Ando's private houses from the 1970s to such major commissions as the Church on the Water, Hokkaido (1981), the Japanese Pavilion for Expo '92 in Seville and the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum (1992). An interview with Ando conducted by Hiroshi Maruyama accompanies a selection of essays by a range of respected international critics including Peter Eisenman, Kenneth Frampton, Francois Chaslin and Frederic Jameson together with selected writings by Ando himself.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tadao Ando, one-time truck driver and boxer, is a self-taught Japanese architect whose winning of the 1995 Pritzker Prize has given him preeminence among his gifted generation. Ando reinvents Japan's architectural tradition in contemporary terms, using minimalist concrete structures of monumental scale, reminiscent of the Brutalist architecture of America's Louis Kahn. Editor Francesco Dal Co, an Italian architectural historian, has produced an excellent survey of Ando's career to date, along with a critical assessment of his work. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

the best book to appear thus far on this major artist -- The New York Times Book Review, Martin Filler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 524 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (November 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714837172
• ISBN-13: 978-0714837178
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best compilation of ando's work so far, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tadao Ando: Complete Works (Paperback)

This book is a must for everyone who is interested in Ando or Japanese architecture in general. It gives a clear chronological view of the evolution of Ando into the great architect that he is today.

Although not totally complete, the works of main interest are included and shortly described. Nice are the early-sketches, illustrating the relation between concept and final design. In the back of the book one can find short but meaningfull writings by Ando or about Ando,that try to capture the essence of his work.

I'm still waiting for a similarly arranged book, but then with personal comments from the master. It remains a beautifull publication that deserves a place on anyone's bookshelf.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good introduction to Ando's work., May 3, 2000

By 

Guy Rochman (Tel Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tadao Ando: Complete Works (Paperback)

Very comprehensive with a lot of good photographs, although too many of them are monochromatic. To someone who's familiar with Tadao Ando's work it emphasizes important aspects of the architect's work such as the penetration of light and the feeling of his transcendental spaces, but to a "novice" it may be a little bit hard to swallow. The presentation is excellent with some additional information about the sites, time of construction etc. The last part includes instructive articles written by critics and by Ando himself. Tadao Ando's own writings are a must to anyone who loves architecture. A good book on a stupendous architect!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an insightful reference book, January 2, 2000

By 

Ping Lim (Christchurch) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tadao Ando: Complete Works (Paperback)

It is by no mean an easy feat to have a career change from a boxer to a prominent architect of an international stature. Tadao Ando has done just that. In addition of giving us the chronological order of all Tadao's work to date (& thus, his evolution in his work), the book also published essays written by the architect himself. This enables the readers to comprehend the rationality behind his works. It really doesn't matter if the buildings created by Tadao are liveable but this is minimalist at its best & at its purest form. By the way, the presentation of the book is simply superb. It looks like a concrete slab, which would snug rather comfortably in any of Tadao's buildings!