May 1, 2019 |
Armani Teatro 2001 – Courtesy of Giorgio Armani
Getting out of bed without waking the other person up. Finding the perfect pair of jeans. Surviving a morning commute without getting a sweat on. These are just a few personal challenges I face on the daily. On the other side of the world though, Tadao Ando is dealing with some slightly more hard-hitting questions. “I wish to create an architecture that will live on eternally – not in substance or form, but as a memory within people’s hearts,” he explains his work, a retrospective of which is currently on display at the Armani/ Silos space in Milan.
Launched during last month’s Salone del Mobile, The Challenge illustrates a wide range of subjects shown in Ando’s architecture through sketches, original models, video installations, technical drawings, travel notes and his own photographs. Presented as a modified version of his big retrospective first shown last year at Centre Pompidou in Paris, it explores decades of work and looks at his rich career of over 50 projects, dating all the way back to the Row House in Sumiyoshi from 1976. What the self-taught architect is most known for is his unique approach to materials and form – merging the organic with man-made with a geometric obsession to shapes. Simultaneously, Giorgio Armani has been cherishing a similar philosophy and applying it to the fashion world – no surprise the two have been collaborating for a while now. They most recently worked together on a collection of furniture combining their two aesthetics, but it was back in 2001 that Mister Armani commissioned Ando to design the space for Armani/ Teatro in via Bergognone, Milan. That project is now on display for the first time ever with the photography of the concrete theatre grounds serving you all the futuristic drama you need.
“As architecture encounters various phenomena, it activates new dialogues. It is these dialogues that speak to people’s souls. How can I shape these dialogues to be more fundamental and more fruitful?” Ando asks himself, his ideas for answers demonstrated throughout the exhibition. Forget about The Grand Designs or Home Under the Hammer – The Challenge is the ultimate home inspiration board.
‘The Challenge’ by Tadao Ando is on display at Armani/ Silos until July 28th.
Koshino House, Ashiya, 1981-1984 – photo by Shinkenchiku-sha
Benesse House Oval, Naoshima, 1995 – photo by Mitsumasa Fujitsuka
FABRICA (Benetton Communication Research Center), Treviso, 2000 – photo by Mitsuo Matsuoka
Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima, 2004 – photo by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates
