Architects have an obligation to protect and enhance the environment for this and future generations, the AIA's most recent Gold Medal recipient told a morning gathering May 10 at the AIA national convention in Charlotte.

"Think carefully before you build something," said Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA. "We have to give back to the environment when we build. We must take great responsibility to care for the environment."

"Architects have a tremendous responsibility to cities in particular. Often, we don't take that responsibility too seriously," he noted.

But by serving society, Ando said, architects can create confidence in and respect for the profession. "Architecture is for life, so we have to make it worth it."

Through his interpreter and a series of slides presenting his work, Ando explained his emphasis on environmental concerns. Among his many contributions to the field of environmental responsibility, Ando urged government officials to purchase a barren land site for an international garden project, which he then completed. He is also engaged in a crusade to plant more than 300,000 trees in his hometown. "Trees will bring communities together," he explained.

In Ft. Worth, Ando's design for an art museum is nearing completion. He points with satisfaction to new public space and the many trees that are incorporated in the building's space.

In addition to his emphasis on the environment, Ando explained how a January 17, 1995, earthquake in Kobe and the surrounding area made a profound impact on him. "It showed me that architects also have a responsibility for the safety of others," he said. None of the Ando-designed buildings in Kobe and in the area close to the fault zone were damaged.

Life-long learning
Money was tight when Ando was growing up, the self-taught architect said to explain why he has no architectural degree. He pointed to extensive reading and study trips in his development as one of the world's most renowned architects. Ando related how, as a teenager in Osaka, Japan, he saved enough money to purchase a book about Le Corbusier from a secondhand bookstore. The exposure from that book along with a trip to Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, convinced the young man he wanted to be an architect. "I studied architecture by going to see actual buildings and reading books about them," he recalled.

Ando's first commission was for a small residence for a family of three. Upon completion of the facility, the client couple announced they were expecting another child. "The child turned out to be twins. Because I too am a twin and now the house was too small for a family of five," Ando related, "they asked me to buy it. I did and it is now my office."

Through incremental changes—vertically because of the tight site—the office now has two floors below ground and five above. Each level has a narrow balcony for access to bookshelves. "I wanted the visitor to feel surrounded by books," Ando said.

He also relayed the story of a young stray dog that one day wandered into his office. "Sensing that architects have a duty to protect all living creatures, we kept the dog," he explained. They couldn't give the dog their first choice for a name, Kenzo Tange, because that architect was still alive and well, Ando joked. So they named the new family member Le Corbusier. Among the dog's greatest attributes, Ando laughed, is her instinct for barking at difficult clients.

Creating connections
Ando considers Rokko Housing, an apartment complex embedded in a hillside with a view of Osaka Bay, as representing many of ideas. The first-phase concrete structure was 20 units, each 18'x18'. Ten years later, a second phase on an adjacent site was constructed with 50 units. Following the 1995 earthquake, his plans for a third phase were quickly approved and construction began.

Ando related how as the third phase developed he saw the potential for a fourth phase on adjoining land. "The owner of the property said, 'No.' But he is 85 years old and we believe it's just a matter of time," he said to a burst of audience laughter. He is now on working on construction of the 'fifth' phase—a hospital. He has spent 30 years—thus far—on the Rokko Housing project.

Another of Ando's acclaimed projects is the Buddhist Water Temple that is entered through a stairway that parts the water of a lotus-filled pool. The pool is actually the roof of ceremonial rooms. He explained how Buddhist monks opposed his design until an elderly monk greatly respected in the community stepped forward to praise the plan. Ando said he learned a valuable lesson for all architects from this experience. When the power leaders are with you, everyone else will follow, he said.

Ando's work, primarily in reinforced concrete, has been said to design spaces in unique new ways that allow constantly changing patterns of light and wind in all his structures, from homes and apartment complexes to places of worship, public museums, and commercial shopping centers.

During a concluding question and answer session, Ando reaffirmed his belief that architects have a responsibility to use their business practice to both serve the client and protect the environment.

Once asked to define "architecture," Ando's response was "Chohatsu suru hako," translated as "the box that provides."

"I have the somewhat arrogant belief that the way people lead lives can be directed, even if by a little, by means of architecture," he said.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.