Currently, Osaka City is conducting the “Ward Certification Test” for the purpose of regional exploration in several wards, including Hirano Ward.
Ando's house was the middle house of a three-house nagaya, so only that part was renovated.
As the carpenter cut the roof at the direction of the master, “a ray of light shone from the vast sky.”
The dark and oppressive space of Nagaya was filled with a swirl of pouring light.
This unexpected and somehow sacred ritual experience gave the boy a decisive inspiration.
Tadao, who still did not know what an architect was, made up his mind.
"I'll become a math major when I finish middle school."
--- pp.17~18

Osaka people consider reading, writing, and arithmetic essential to living a successful life, and this was the spirit thoroughly taught to them by their maternal grandmother.
It is impossible to revitalize a village if the villagers do not understand how to manage their real estate and how to calculate their money.
He said he had heard the saying, "How can someone who can't do math build a building?" so many times that it was ingrained in his ears.

--- p.38

Houses are built in dense urban environments, subject to strict building codes and limited budgets.
On the other hand, there is also the reality that huge office buildings and apartment complexes are restructuring urban space without any regard for the wishes of ordinary citizens who live on the ground.
In such a situation, architects must confront the absurd reality together with the residents.
The home is the stronghold and the fortress of battle.

--- p.48

Another fundamental principle that runs through Tadao Ando's life is "fighting."
It's clear that his experience as a professional boxer has had an influence, but it's not that simple.
He confronts and raises questions about a huge movement that appears in a different dimension from the lives of the common people on whom he relies and the commotion around him.

--- p.57

The driving force of Ando is the physical impulse to breathe heavily while feeling the pressure on the skin, and the architectural prototype that lies at the bottom of Ando's consciousness is the cramped, frugal wooden dwelling that reveals the everyday life of Osaka.

--- p.70

Construction sites are affected by human factors such as the craftsman's skill, temperament, and cleanliness, in addition to terrain, access conditions, and climate.
In addition, since the formwork is constructed by fitting together rebar, it cannot be said that it will be completed neatly as shown in the drawing.
Accuracy varies depending on the site.

--- pp.90~91

A long, thin box modeled after a nagaya is Ando's most basic model.
He began to design houses using this as a framework, and it took about 10 years from the late 1970s for him to make significant changes to the geometry.
From around this time, thin and long box frames appeared and space was established by a cube.

--- p.132

All architects have the attitude of refining and refining a motif until they are satisfied.
But in Ando's case, as you can see from the sketch, he is much more obsessed than other people.
It was around 1985 that I became convinced of the fundamental shape of the cylinder, and from there, it really came into its own.

--- p.139

What is important is that Ando has the impact of not being the second coming of Le Corbusier, but rather a medieval stonemason appearing before us.
Unlike people like Kunio Maekawa who followed Le Corbusier's style in everything from architectural style to clothing and behavior, he was originally ascetic and lived a life literally like a Cistercian monk.
That is also the reason why Chaslin even refers to Ando as an “architect.”

--- p.180

A man named Tadao Ando emerged without following the Japanese architectural steps.
That's what I like about it.
If he asks, “Are you an architect or an artist?” then I am an artist.
He is an expressive artist in every sense of the word.
The sentences are good, the story is interesting, and the appearance is good.
In a word, he is an “expressor of thought.”

--- p.247

When I first visited Naoshima in 1988, led by Fukutake, it was still a bare mountain.
Faced with such a desolate island, Fukutake said, “I want to make this a cultural island where the world’s best artists can showcase their art and where visitors can hone their sensibilities.”
It was hard to understand at first.

--- p.269

The point of relief is clear, and his speech is also clear and unmistakable.
His architecture has a power that comes from such a clear point of view.
The reason many people accept and support his work is because his architecture contains a clear worldview.

--- p.344

How is it possible to accomplish such a high-density task with such a limited number of people?
There are a few keys to knowing that.
The basic principle is to build a relationship of sufficient trust between the Ando office, the client, and the construction company.
Ando's philosophy is that if these three points are smoothly connected and communication is established with mutual respect, useless work can be omitted.

--- p.364

The relationship with the client continues after completion.
"Ando's office is like a carpenter, so instead of just building and then ignoring it, we must also ensure aftercare." As he says, aftercare is also important.
So, we often receive requests for houses to be renovated or expanded 10 or 20 years later, and we engage in intergenerational interactions with the client's family.

--- p.365

“In the architectural world, I am a pain in the ass.
Their educational backgrounds are different, their social bases are different, and their working methods are different.
It seems like there's a lot of accumulated unpleasant feelings like, "Why is that guy getting recognized?"
--- p.376

Naturally, Tadao Ando loves Osaka, the city that introduced him to the world, and he is proud to be from Osaka.
It's a challenging and inclusive neighborhood, and I'm deeply grateful that there are still people who "encourage a young person like me, who studied architecture alone, to give it a try," and that it gave me a huge opportunity.
Osaka, a merchant town, has a tradition and spirit, and unlike Tokyo, where the state institutions are powerful in many ways and bound by invisible hierarchies, people are closer to each other.
That kind of humanity is Osaka's strength and charm.
So, Ando was repeatedly invited to move to Tokyo, but he declined all offers and continued to base his business in Osaka.

--- p.465

By entering the heart of Korea's cultural landscape through his art museum and theater designs, Tadao Ando has, in a different sense, become at the forefront of Korea-Japan exchange.
Osaka is close to Korea, so Korean clients actively seek out Ando, ​​and as they explore his works in places like Naoshima, they experience the unique East Asian philosophy of nature and the way of existing space, and together with Ando, ​​they seek to open up a new dimension of modern culture.

--- p.507