The Centre Pompidou is showing a major retrospective exhibition of the renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, on view through December 31, 2018.Focusing on Ando’s creative principles — such as the use of smooth concrete, the pre-eminence of simple geometric volumes and the integration of natural components such as light and water into his spatial designs — the exhibition also highlights the importance he gives to the intensity of the physical experience engendered by his architecture.In a staging designed by Tadao Ando himself, the retrospective spotlights his most celebrated projects — the “Azuma House in Sumiyoshi” (1976), “Naoshima (1988 to the present day),” “the Church of Light” (1989), and “La Bourse de Commerce in Paris” (autumn 2019). The exhibition, featuring around 50 major projects through 180 drawings, 70 original models and slideshows, is divided into four main themes — the basic form of space; the urban challenge; the origins of landscape, and the dialogue with history.Born in 1941 in Osaka, Japan, Tadao Ando developed a fascination for architecture and abandoned professional boxing. He set out on an initiatory tour of the world to learn about his passion and eventually established his own agency in 1969 in Osaka. During his initial years, he produced sober, clean-lined designs, which stood against the 1970s trend for technological architecture.According to Centre Pompidou, Tadao Ando bases his designs on an exploration of the various aspects typical of his work, particularly architecture’s very reason for existing. The architect says: “Given that it is used by people, it has close links with the body… Architecture should provide a place for mankind’s sense of joy. Otherwise our bodies are not attracted to it.”Exploring the question of how to make architecture, Ando says: “By dint of thinking about it, I ended up with the relationship between dimension, height, surface, and three-dimensional volumes.” Questioning how to integrate light into his designs, he says: “What I felt when observing Romanesque churches… was that hope resided in light alone. I created the ‘Church of Light,’ wondering whether the symbol of the community wasn’t light. Architecture also involves creating places for the community. I produce my architecture by asking myself how I can create things that remain forever imprinted on people’s souls.”Tadao Ando won the prestigious US Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1995, and has received numerous prizes and international awards throughout his fifty-year career.The exhibition will be on view through December 31, 2018 at Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris.For more information, visit: https://www.centrepompidou.fr/enClick on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the exhibition.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/                                                        Founder: Louise Blouin  Read more