Tadao Ando’s minimalist buildings, in which Japanese and Western design conventions combine to form geometrical concrete sculptures, have been awarded the world’s most prestigious architectural prizes. Born in 1941, Ando originally wanted to become a boxer. It was only after seeing the Imperial Hotel by Frank Lloyd Wright on a school trip to Tokyo that he decided on a career in architecture, teaching himself and following in the footsteps of the great modernists such as Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Since the early 1970s, Ando has created countless buildings around the world, all characterised by their strict minimalism and intense interaction with the environment. Aesthetically, they’re in the borderland between architecture and land art. 

Taschen-Verlag has now published a portfolio of the great Japanese architect’s work compiled by Philip Jodidio. The book retells Ando’s career from 1975 to the present day through photographs, drawings and accompanying texts. Current projects such as the Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre and the Clark Center at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts are also included. We couldn’t have wished for a better overview of the great minimalist’s work.

Photos: Taschen