Architecture

Osaka – Tadao Ando

Grey would not usually be my choice of colour. The ashy grey of the sky in London, the cold metallic grey of the steel and glass structures in Canary Wharf, the useless grey crayon in my godchildren’s boxes …

Words by Marta
March 3, 2025 | 5-minute read

“There is a role and function for beauty in our time” ( Tadao Ando )

Grey would not usually be my choice of colour. The ashy grey of the sky in London, the cold metallic grey of the steel and glass structures in Canary Wharf, the useless grey crayon in my godchildren's boxes … all of these have always sat fairly abhorrent with me. So neutral, so ambivalent, almost cowardly unexpressive.

There’s one gray though that I’ve found has the potential to embody any other colour, to morph into any shape and texture… that grey in the hands of a concrete master craftsman that can be a rock and at the same time a thin mesh almost translucid to all eyes. In the right hands, concrete does disappear and blends into the context only to highlight the shadows, shapes and colours around it and, at the same time, preserves its weight and character with an ambivalent texture. And in the hands of Tadao Ando, concrete is elevated to prime raw material.

Today as I landed in Osaka I impulsively decided to turn my agenda upside down and start my roaming around the city by covering as much as possible of the work of Tadao Ando in his hometown. And, on holiday, I allow freeway to impulses every now and then.

I visited Azuma House, the OP Sayamaike Museum which does gather some of the main highlights of Ando’s work and I also walked by the Chaska Chayamachi building. However, If I had to choose one building that for me epitomizes the work and philosophy of Tadao Ando, this would be the Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest.

I purposely made of this spot the final step of the day’s tour, so I could spend as much time as needed not only appreciating the design, but also enjoying the ambience. When a concept comes to fruition exactly as intended, there is magic watching the kids jump around the apple statue and then queue to get into the library makes me think that this is exactly the way this space was always envisaged to be, and that is a sign of genius designers.

However, once inside the library, real inspiration awakens - kids of ages ranging from 2 to 10 all taking their own chairs and asking their adult companions to fetch that book about animals, the one about planets or even one that talks about how different cultures call the same thing… I don’t think there are many combinations that can beat nature, design and books as a mood booster and when it is the youngest generations finding pleasure in those, I think perhaps there is still hope for this world that sometimes seems to be drawing in madness.

The library does embody Ando’s philosophy not only from a design perspective, but also in its genesis. Tadao Ando designed and covered the construction costs of this project as a way to give back to the community of his origins through the most nourishing contribution he could make - a place for children and families to read and engage in cultural activities. The construction of the building was completed in 2020 and throughout the combination of concrete and wood together with vast windows result in a warm yet minimalistic environment in stark contrast with the exteriors of the building made of concrete and steel with sharp shapes that convey a feeling of coldness (almost like the weather today in Osaka, at 1C outside!).

There is only one spot in the interior of the library where light is very much constrained. A room at the end of the building shaped as a closed cylinder made of raw concrete and serving as a curved screen where chinese shadows are played for the kids.

“There is a role and function for beauty in our time”

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“There is a role and function for beauty in our time” ( Tadao Ando )

Grey would not usually be my choice of colour. The ashy grey of the sky in London, the cold metallic grey of the steel and glass structures in Canary Wharf, the useless grey crayon in my godchildren's boxes … all of these have always sat fairly abhorrent with me. So neutral, so ambivalent, almost cowardly unexpressive.

There’s one gray though that I’ve found has the potential to embody any other colour, to morph into any shape and texture… that grey in the hands of a concrete master craftsman that can be a rock and at the same time a thin mesh almost translucid to all eyes. In the right hands, concrete does disappear and blends into the context only to highlight the shadows, shapes and colours around it and, at the same time, preserves its weight and character with an ambivalent texture. And in the hands of Tadao Ando, concrete is elevated to prime raw material.

Today as I landed in Osaka I impulsively decided to turn my agenda upside down and start my roaming around the city by covering as much as possible of the work of Tadao Ando in his hometown. And, on holiday, I allow freeway to impulses every now and then.

I visited Azuma House, the OP Sayamaike Museum which does gather some of the main highlights of Ando’s work and I also walked by the Chaska Chayamachi building. However, If I had to choose one building that for me epitomizes the work and philosophy of Tadao Ando, this would be the Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest.

I purposely made of this spot the final step of the day’s tour, so I could spend as much time as needed not only appreciating the design, but also enjoying the ambience. When a concept comes to fruition exactly as intended, there is magic watching the kids jump around the apple statue and then queue to get into the library makes me think that this is exactly the way this space was always envisaged to be, and that is a sign of genius designers.

However, once inside the library, real inspiration awakens - kids of ages ranging from 2 to 10 all taking their own chairs and asking their adult companions to fetch that book about animals, the one about planets or even one that talks about how different cultures call the same thing… I don’t think there are many combinations that can beat nature, design and books as a mood booster and when it is the youngest generations finding pleasure in those, I think perhaps there is still hope for this world that sometimes seems to be drawing in madness.

The library does embody Ando’s philosophy not only from a design perspective, but also in its genesis. Tadao Ando designed and covered the construction costs of this project as a way to give back to the community of his origins through the most nourishing contribution he could make - a place for children and families to read and engage in cultural activities. The construction of the building was completed in 2020 and throughout the combination of concrete and wood together with vast windows result in a warm yet minimalistic environment in stark contrast with the exteriors of the building made of concrete and steel with sharp shapes that convey a feeling of coldness (almost like the weather today in Osaka, at 1C outside!).

There is only one spot in the interior of the library where light is very much constrained. A room at the end of the building shaped as a closed cylinder made of raw concrete and serving as a curved screen where chinese shadows are played for the kids.