Tadao Ando Quotes
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Without this spirit, Modernist architecture cannot fully exist. Since there is often a mismatch between the logic and the spirit of Modernism, I use architecture to reconcile the two.
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I believe that architecture is fundamentally a public space where people can gather and communicate, think about the history, think about the lives of human beings, or the world.
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If I can create some space that people haven't experienced before and if it stays with them or gives them a dream for the future, that's the kind of structure I seek to create.
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Japanese architecture is traditionally based on wooden structures that need renovating on a regular basis.
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I think of the past and the future as well as the present to determine where I am, and I move on while thinking of these things.
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My hand is the extension of the thinking process - the creative process.
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There is a role and function for beauty in our time.
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People tend not to use this word beauty because it's not intellectual - but there has to be an overlap between beauty and intellect.
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There are self-made millionaires - their aspiration is first to make money. But the once that goal is achieved, they have to look for something and sometimes they become patrons of art or museums. And that is how the world should go.
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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.
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Spiritual space is lost in gaining convenience. I saw the need to create a mixture of Japanese spiritual culture and modern western architecture.
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If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness.
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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.
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At the same time, I would add that the American people have a lot of courage.
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Look at London or Paris: they're both filthy. You don't get that in Tokyo. The proud residents look after their city.
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I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture.
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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.
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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.
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In Japan, there is less a culture of preserving old buildings than in Europe.
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I am interested in things happening around me, and I need to understand what's going on in other artistic sectors like music and literature.
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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.
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The speed of change makes you wonder what will become of architecture.
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You can't really say what is beautiful about a place, but the image of the place will remain vividly with you.
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If there is only one culture all over the world, that's not a good thing.