At the same time, I would add that the American people have a lot of courage.
Tadao Ando

But in Japan, there's nothing like that, since the temple is made of wood. The divine spirit inside the building is eternal, so the enclosure doesn't have to be.
Tadao Ando

But now, more and more, its society is concerned with economy and finance.
Tadao Ando

I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture.
Tadao Ando

I don't look so closely at women's fashion, but from the 20th century on, people have had the freedom to express themselves and their individualities, and fashion is one of the most fundamental ways in which they do this, men and women are equally able to express themselves.
Tadao Ando

I hope America can also be the cultural leader of the world, and use this frontier spirit to lead and show others that we need courage to go places where we have not gone before.
Tadao Ando

I hope that America as a whole, and especially its architects, will become more seriously involved in producing a new architectural culture that would bring the nation to the apex - where it has stood before - and lead the world.
Tadao Ando

I would like my architecture to inspire people to use their own resources, to move into the future.
Tadao Ando

If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness.
Tadao Ando

In the West there has always been the attempt to try make the religious building, whether it's a Medieval or Renaissance church, an eternal object for the celebration of God. The material chosen, such as stone, brick, or concrete, is meant to eternally preserve what is inside.
Tadao Ando


Japanese traditional architecture is created based on these conditions. This is the reason you have a very high degree of connection between the outside and inside in architecture.
Tadao Ando

My hand is the extension of the thinking process - the creative process.
Tadao Ando

People tend not to use this word beauty because it's not intellectual - but there has to be an overlap between beauty and intellect.
Tadao Ando

The computer offers another kind of creativity. You cannot ignore the creativity that computer technology can bring. But you need to be able to move between those two different worlds.
Tadao Ando

The level of detail and craft is something that's inscribed within the original design concept. And so when I begin to draw, I know what kind of detailing I want the building to have.
Tadao Ando

The speed of change makes you wonder what will become of architecture.
Tadao Ando

There is a role and function for beauty in our time.
Tadao Ando

When I design buildings, I think of the overall composition, much as the parts of a body would fit together. On top of that, I think about how people will approach the building and experience that space.
Tadao Ando

When I draw something, the brain and the hands work together.
Tadao Ando

When you look at Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its relationship with nature. You can actually live in a harmonious, close contact with nature - this very unique to Japan.
Tadao Ando