CHALLENGE OURSELVES through architecture
(The social responsibilities of an architect)

Since 1969 I have been working as an architect on my own, and in that time I have worked on many imaginary projects without commission from anyone, such as the rooftop gardens in front of Osaka station and the Nakanoshima project with the Urban Egg and Urban strata. Of course no one asked or commissioned me to design them but I hoped to challenge myself with these immense dreams.

The great Hanshin earthquake that devastated the Osaka – Kobe area in 1995 inspired in me the realization of the significance of architecture's fundamental factors: safety and function. I have since then been deeply involved in the area's recovery plans. Architecture can truly be a process of demanding work; it is founded on the fundamental factors of safety and functions, then balanced with the aesthetic consideration. In any act of planning, the responsibilities of the planner and the user must equally be considered.

These concerns have been addressed in recent work. For Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, the main museum was first completed, then followed by the hilltop annex, Minami-dera, and the art house projects. The museum has grown, together with the community, and has become the source of activities to its own community. As the architect, I am proud to see the changes that this project brings about.

Last fall, the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis was completed, and the construction at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is going on strong with the scheduled completion date during next fall. Also in France the work on the Fondation Francois Pinault pour l'Art Contemporair has firmly started. Yes, these are places conventionally called "museums" but for me, each individual work of architecture holds a responsible role in becoming the heart and nucleus of its community. This is the determination I have always held in my work. It may arguably be appropriate to say that these places potentially serve as the "church" for our communities in contemporary society.

From now on, without compromise, on any difficult projects, I want to continue to fulfill this social responsibility of an architect.

Tadao Ando




Tadao Ando is currently the chair of the department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo. Recognition for his ever-growing body of work includes awards such as the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, Denmark's Carlsberg Architectural Prize, the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Gold Medal of Architecture from the French Academy of Architecture.

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