Tadao Ando

Before dedicating himself to architecture as a self-taught professional, Tadao Ando led a very varied life, working as a truck driver and boxer. His approach to Architecture has sometimes been classified as critical Regionalism and is based on the principles of minimalist aesthetics.
Ando is strongly influenced by the modern movement, in particular by Le Corbusier, but at the same time deeply linked to traditional Japanese architecture. In his work, he has always set himself a strong limitation in his choice of design themes in order to confer an almost “artisanal” feel to his objects in the definition of every detail.
The artist is famous for an exemplary style that evokes the material nature, the connection, and the reading of spaces in a typically Japanese manner through an aesthetical comparison with international modernism. A choice that is then translated into the almost exclusive use of fair-faced concrete, with formwork following the shape and size of Japanese tatami, often combined with wood and stone.

In 1969, the artist opened Tadao Ando Architects & Associates. His collaboration with VENINI began in 2011.