Church on the Water: Tadao Ando Japanese Architecture

March 28, 2020

Introduction

Check out more on the Church on the Water. I know you will be amazed at how great this place is and how much history there is to it.

Background of the Concepts:

Wrapped in an aesthetic devoid of any ornament, many of the works of Tadao Ando base their richness in the relationship of the building with light and nature. In that sense, the Church on the Water, designed in 1985 and built in 1988, is one of its most celebrated achievements, in which nature has been involved in the design of the building. Here, Ando manages to create a microcosm that combines simply but brilliantly concepts on the profane and the sacred, the artificial and the natural, the enclosed and the exposed, the emptiness and the infinity.

Architect: Tadao Ando

Designed: 1985-1988

Constructed: 1998 (5 months)

Location: Tomamu, Hokkaidō, Japan

Style: Modern with Postmodern influence

Characteristics of style:

Complex spatial circulation while preserving the appearance of simplicity
Furthermore, use of concrete with its ability to be formed into simple monotone parts with a sense of cleanliness

Roots of style:

Started his career as a boxer
Was struck by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel and decided to switch to architecture
Self-taught architect by studying books and architecture in person
Cultural background of Japan, heavily influenced by Zen
Religion/lifestyle throughout his life

Specific expressions of the style:

The entry being circuitous to give a feeling a ritual and purification
Additionally, L-shaped wall, creating a holy place secluded from the commonplace
All views toward a grove of beech trees
Lastly, placement of the metal cross outdoors with views from inside to further express the correlation between nature and religion

Images

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