Ten years ago this fall, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth opened its new Tadao Ando-designed museum to much critical acclaim throughout the world. The building is noted for its simple elegance, inventive interiors, efficient and evocative use of materials, and its sense of special serenity or meditative conduciveness. Much of this effect is achieved by the way Ando uses qualities of light, water, trees, glass, and concrete in his works.
Ando was back in Fort Worth this past weekend to mark the tenth anniversary of his museum. We spoke to him about the building, America, and his architectural practice.
FrontRow: What’s it like coming back to this building after ten years? Are you the kind of person who continues to rethink decisions you made in the design after a project is completed?
Tadao Ando: Of course I can see that I should have done this, I should have done that. There are many things, of course. Because nothing is perfect. And I know this here and there. But I’m grateful that the building has been utilized in a very positive way. And the trees are growing, I love that. And I can see people are enjoying the space.
FR: Designing a building that sits next to Louis Kahn’s Kimbell is an honor, but it also brings a certain amount of added pressure or expectation. In some ways your building reference’s Kahn’s, but then it also has its own feel entirely. How do you balance homage and invention when approaching a project like this?
TA: One thing is that the Kimbell is for impressionists, but this one is for contemporary. So what we are housing are two very different things. And in the case of the Kimbell, it is a very orderly building; the building has been designed in a rigid, formal matter. But here you have to provide some freedom for artists. So they are very distinctive approaches to the respective buildings. And in any case, the Kimbell is one of the best buildings for museum in the 20th century. But I am happy that now the expansion is going on, so we’ll have three buildings here very closely. So it is probably going to be the most important place for art in North America.
FR: One of the distinctive qualities of this building is the way its exterior possesses a simple, understandable elegance, while the interior design of the building surprises as you move through it. What was the thinking behind creating this kind of dynamic?
TA: The most important thing is to inspire people who come here by looking at artworks, but at the same time I wanted to give them an opportunity for self-discovery. So I wanted to have a space that is conducive to those self-discoveries. But it is different from person to person. That is why I designed the building in this manner. And also, I wanted to have a space that attracts people repeatedly. I want a space that people want to visit again and again. And depending on the time of day, the space must look different and must provide different opportunities.
FR: You’re known for your use of concrete. Does that material attract you just because it is so versatile, or is there some other quality that makes you want to use it?
TA: Concrete provides a freedom of expression, and also it is versatile. You can procure it anywhere in the world; anyone can build with concrete. But my objective is to design a space that nobody else can come up with while using the material that anyone can use.
FR: You never received any formal training in architecture, but rather studied on your own. I’m wondering at what point you decided you wanted to pursue architecture. And did you ever have moments when you thought that you should have perhaps pursued formal training?
TA: Probably around 18. Since I wasn’t in a university, I had to self-teach. So I read a lot of books at home. The 20th century is a time when the educational system was almost completed. So it provided very little room for people who self-studied like us. It was a different time – it was tough. So when I was still not successful, still trying to make myself as an architect, I traveled and saw the Pantheon, the Parthenon, and other buildings. And whenever I am down, I go back there and try to remember the aspirational feeling I had there to remember why I wanted to be an architect. I think it is important young and would-be architects have something they can go back to.
FR: You’ve designed churches, museums, domestic spaces. Is there a difference approach to design a sacred space as opposed to a secular or non-religious space?
TA: I take the museum space also as sacred in a sense, and then of course a church or religious buildings are sacred. And residential are for daily lives. They are buildings that have their own purpose, and you have to design for that purpose.
FR: What makes a sacred space?
TA: So of course it is case by case, but I think the basic condition is a space that is conducive to recovering humanity, to recover yourself. So it is not really the geometry. It is actually – I’m still thinking what makes a space sacred. It is not really the geometric space, but it is still in my mind what actually makes sacred space sacred.
FR: Is light important to it?
TA: Yes, it is of primary importance.
FR: When you were young you took a bus tour of the United States, and now you have traveled here for many years working on projects. Have your impressions of United States changed since that first trip?
TA: It is a huge country; it is a strong country. And it is effectively the leader, pushing the world forward. So in those days I felt like I wanted to see Japan take after the example the United States was showing to us. I feel that this is a free country, a wealthy country. There is nothing absolutely right and wrong, but for anything, excessive-ness doesn’t work. And I think that capitalism has just gone too far. And it is actually not limited to the United States. The excesses of capitalism is making us suffer all over the world right now.
FR: In your lecture today you spoke a lot about youth. Why is this a topic that you think about so much?
TA: This has been my motto. As long as you have an objective in your mind you are young. There are self-made millionaires – their aspiration is first to make money. But the once that goal is achieved, they have to look for something and sometimes they become patrons of art or museums. And that is how the world should go. So I think everyone needs a goal. And what kind of goal will be important. And for that we have to study and we have to be intelligent.
FR: Do you still have architectural goals?
TA: It hasn’t been changed. I want to create a space that moves people. It doesn’t matter if it is a house, or a museum, or whatever. So, it is somebody sitting on that lawn, just going around and around and feeling really happy. That is something that I’m striving for.
Image courtesy of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
