"His buildings embody the timelessness of all great architecture—combining the art of building and the art of living," said AIA President Gordon H. Chong, FAIA, who had the privilege of introducing the May 10 plenary of the AIA national convention and its guest of honor, 2002 AIA Gold Medalist Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA.

Ando, speaking through an interpreter, quipped to the audience that because he had spent all his time studying architecture, he never learned English. He was grateful, he said, to be at the AIA convention to share his thoughts about the forces that had shaped his career. "It's a great honor," he related. "I am so impressed by the generous and liberal spirit of the American people."

Because of his family's financial circumstances, Ando did not attend college, but rather taught himself architecture. One of the most influential of his studies were the books of Le Corbusier, which taught him the importance of imagining and dreaming broadly. A second major influence centered on a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, which taught him that "if you allow people to really experience architecture, it stays with them and teaches them something about living." Le Corbusier and Wright led him to realize what a big influence architecture could have on people. "I hold that responsibility very seriously," he said. "And I hope that we can work together with this understanding."

Ando showed the audience some examples of his work, notable the Church of the Cross, Osaka, and the Church on the Water, Hyogo, to illustrate the power of the simple influences of nature in evoking the heart of the people within place.

Another major influence on Ando's architecture offered an infinitely sadder lesson: The 1995 earthquake in Kobe, which claimed 6,000 lives, brought home to him the primacy of keeping people safe within shelter. The architect showed a project in Kobe of which he spoke with special fondness: the planting of 300,000 white-flowering trees by volunteers to commemorate the earthquake victims.

The Kobe project best illustrates to Ando the architect's province, namely the balancing act of building and the natural environment. This is how we need to work together, and we "need all the creativity and energy that we all have," he concluded to a standing ovation from the appreciative audience.

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