culture and history 2
TRANSCRIPT
AZUMA HOUSE
TADAO ANDO
by
Farah Akmal bt Mohd Zamzuri
Valentine Hew Hui Ling
Kimberly Wong Jin Siew
Patricia Kong Weng Yee
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
FARAH AKMAL BT MOHD ZAMZURI
0315884
Tadao Ando is a Japanese self-taught architect who was highly regarded for
his unparalleled work with concrete, sensitive treatment of light and strong
engagement with nature which was best exemplified by Azuma House. According to
Tadao Ando, “You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to
absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that
knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see”. On the other
hand, Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, in fact, the greatest architect
American architect of all time, interior designer, writer and educator who designed
more than 1,000 structures, 532 of which were completed. His philosophy is called
organic architecture which promotes the harmony between humanity and its
environment through designed approaches, and this philosophy was best
exemplified by Falling Water (1935) where his famous dictum takes a turn “No house
should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill
and house should live together each the happier for the other”. In architecture,
spatial organization shows how the building related to one another and organized
into coherent patterns of form and space. How the spaces play an important role in
the space? Therefore, this report will covered about the spatial organization
comparison between Tadao Ando’s Azuma House and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling
Water and the three main points that will be covered are the spatial organization,
public and private areas and the entrance approach of the house.
Firstly, Azuma House was built in linear organization manner whereas Falling
Water was built in clustered organization manner. According to Ching (2007), “Linear
organization consist of a series of spaces which can be either directly related to one
another or linked through a separate and distinct space” (p. 206). Tadao Ando uses
basic and simple geometric form in his design and divided the plan into three
partitions with the same ratio and related it to the site context. Azuma House is a
simple, narrow concrete rectangular residence which occupies the entire site,
aligned with other houses in the street. His other house, 4x4 House, is also designed
using the linear organization. Figure 1 and 2 shows that both house are using linear
organization and stand vertically as a tower. By using linear organization, the house
can perfectly adapt to the site requirement and fully utilized the space.
Figure 1 Figure 2
On the other hand, clustered organization relies on physical proximity to
relate its spaces to one another. The spaces in the Falling Water are organized by
the geometric pattern (Ching, 2007, p. 229). The spaces in the floor plan are
clustered but still connecting to each other. Besides, clustered organization can
accommodate within its composition spaces, although it is dissimilar to each other in
term of size, form and function because the pattern does not originate from a rigid,
geometric concept, the cluster is flexible and it can accept growth and change easily.
(Ching, 2007) Figure 3 shows that the house plan is flexible. Friedman House was
an example of his other design while using the same clustered organization. It was
the first three homes built in the Usonian Homes. He built this house based on the
site condition.
Figure 3
Secondly, Azuma House consists of private space and semi public space
which is the family area. The living room, kitchen and the courtyard located on the
ground floor are the family area while the two bedroom on the upper floor are the
private space. The living room located at one end of the ground floor are separated
by the courtyard from the kitchen-dining room and bathroom, located in another end.
The same goes to the top floor where the rooms are separated by the courtyard and
can be reached by a bridge to the children's rooms on one side face the master
bedroom on the other side of the central courtyard. The bridge act as a third,
intermediate space to link the two spaces that are distant from each other, like
spaces linked by a common space.
According to Ando (1984), “In its simple but rich spatial composition, in its
expression of enclosure, and in the way light gives character to daily life spaces, this
house encapsulates an image of my architecture.” (p. 26) In the Azuma House, he
deals with the constraint space by opening up the courtyard to enable the dweller to
look up in the sky and feel the wind blowing, stirring up emotions and purifying the
spirit which allows residents to experience nature without the distractions of the city.
The central section is completely roofless so the residents must carry umbrellas to
move around the house on rainy days. This evoked controversy of convenience to
the inhabitants, but he had explained why it is a burden worth bearing at the same
time. The open courtyard is capable of becoming the most essential part of the
house by introducing the everyday life and assimilating precious stimuli such as
changes in nature and where seasonal changes can be directly experienced and
perceived by the dwellers through the senses. Besides, where he wants people to
easily experience the spirit and the beauty of nature through architecture because he
believes that architecture is responsible for making it happen. “When you look at
Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its
relationship with nature. You can actually live in a harmonious, close contact with
nature - this very unique to Japan.” – Tadao Ando.
On the other hand, the Falling Water was a private family’s weekend home
before it was opened to the public as a museum. The building was constructed in
three levels on a rock on a natural waterfall. The first floor is mainly for public space
where the living room, dining room and kitchen are located then up to the second
and the third floor is for private space. On the second floor, there are two bedroom,
two bathroom and the office of Mr. Kaufmann, as well as three terraces and stairs
that leads to the look out on the third floor. According to Kaufmann, Jr., "He [Wright]
understood that people were creatures of nature, hence an architecture which
conformed to nature would conform to what was basic in people. For example,
although all of Falling Water [sic] is opened by broad bands of windows, people
inside are sheltered as in a deep cave, secure in the sense of the hill behind them."
Last but not least, a frontal approach is used in the Azuma House whereas
spiral approach is used in the Falling Water. A frontal approach leads directly to the
entrance of the building along a straight line, axial path. The visual that terminates
the approach is clear; it may be the entire front façade of a building or an elaborated
entrance within the plane. A spiral path prolongs the sequence of the approach and
emphasizes the three-dimensional form of a building as we move around its
perimeter. The building entrance might be viewed intermittently during the approach
to clarify its position or it may be hidden until the point of arrival. Azuma house is a
concrete rectangular residence aligned with other house in the street. (Ando, 1997,
p.51) The frontal approach and recesses entrance made the façade look completely
shuts off from the street focusing completely on the inside; on its own perfections.
On the other hand, falling water used the spiral path to shows a different view of the
house from different angle. It also used the recesses entrance same as Azuma
House but it gives a different feeling when the entrance at Falling Water blends in
the nature and environment but Azuma House marked a contrast between his
concrete house and the environment.
To conclude, spatial organization, public and private areas and the entrance
approach of the house does play an important role in the space. When everything
mixed together it will form a new space, a new design therefore these elements
plays an important role in the space. As for the architect’s philosophy, we can see
how their philosophy affect their design although they used the same element but
with their own philosophy it create something different. Wright's passion
for Japanese architecture was strongly reflected in the design of Fallingwater,
particularly in the importance of interpenetrating the exterior and interior spaces and
the strong emphasis placed on harmony between man and nature. Tadao Ando once
stated "I think Wright learned the most important aspect of architecture, the
treatment of space, from Japanese architecture. When I visited Fallingwater in
Pennsylvania, I found that same sensibility of space. But there was the additional
sounds of nature that appealed to me.”
APA referencing
1. Architect.architecture.sk,. (2015). Tadao Ando : architect biography. Retrieved 9
June 2015, from http://architect.architecture.sk/tadao-ando-architect/tadao-ando-
architect.php
2. ArchitectureWeek,. (2015). East, north, west, and south prospects (elevation
drawings) of the 4x4 House.. Retrieved from
http://www.architectureweek.com/2011/0727/design_4-2.html
3. Biography.com,. (2015). Frank Lloyd Wright Biography. Retrieved 9 June 2015,
from http://www.biography.com/people/frank-lloyd-wright-9537511#early-life
4. Ching, F. (2007). Architecture, form, space & order (3rd ed.). Canada: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
5. Fallingwater.org,. (2015). Fallingwater | Fallingwater Drawings and Plans.
Retrieved 9 June 2015, from http://www.fallingwater.org/132/fallingwater-drawings-
and-plans
6. Ivy, R. (2015). Architectural Record | Interviews | Tadao Ando.
Archrecord.construction.com. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from
http://archrecord.construction.com/people/interviews/archives/0205ando.asp
List of references
1. http://archrecord.construction.com/people/interviews/archives/0205ando.asp
2. http://architect.architecture.sk/tadao-ando-architect/tadao-ando-architect.php
3. http://www.biography.com/people/frank-lloyd-wright-9537511#early-life
4. http://www.architectureweek.com/2011/0727/design_4-2.html
5. http://archrecord.construction.com/people/interviews/archives/0205ando.asp
6. http://www.fallingwater.org/132/fallingwater-drawings-and-plans
MATERIALS
BY
VALENTINE HEW HUI LING
(0316236)
AZUMA HOUSE – FALLING WATER
The word architecture has two meanings.
Architecture means the activity of designing and planning the buildings. Secondly the
style and concepts of every building is built for a reason. Some buildings are meant to
be lived in, while others are built for other purposes like for services such as
businesses, schools, hospitals and more. There’s a lot we can learn from if we really
look into the buildings carefully, especially about the people who designed, built or lived
in them, how they were built and design, what they were used for. All architectures
come in all shapes, sizes and materials.
In this essay, two well-known buildings the Azuma house and the Falling water by the
two masters of architects Tadao Ando and Frank Lloyd Wright respectively were chosen
to do a compare and contrast essay. This is so because both architects use certain
similar concepts to drive and create their design. And on the basis of purely visual and
material, they are quite contrast. As Tadao Ando is a self- taught architect , he learnt his
lessons and get inspiration from the western modernisms buildings of Frank Llyod
Wright, Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. And on the other hand for wright , to achieve a
greater integration between the building with the nature surrounding it, he adopts the
solution by getting inspiration from Japanese architecture.
Ando’s architecture style accentuating nothingness and unfilled space to show the
beauty of simplicity and uniform. He supports planning complex spatial flow while
keeping up the presence of straightforwardness. Whereby for Frank Lloyd Wright, he
completely grasped glass in his design and observed that it fits into his logic of natural
structural engineering which he always focus on. Glass took into account collaboration
and survey of the outdoors while as yet shielding from the elements.
Azuma house in Sumiyoshi is one of Tadao Ando's most earliest works. It replaces one
of the customary houses in the zone where the structures are constructed in wood.
Fundamentally the thought of this building is to part the house into spaces dedicated to
every day life which makes theoretical spaces which play with the wind and light. The
space intended for this building is noteworthy in its austere simplicity. Azuma house is
clearly a little venture which hits the idea of effortlessness. Essentially Azuma house is
think about as a smaller house situated in a slender space site, with rooms at front and
back joined by outdoors connect through patio.
Falling Water (Kaufmann Residence) is a house that was design by one of the most
famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This house is an extremely unique building that is
assembled more than a waterfall. It is roosted over a mountain waterfall on a rough
slope in the rugged forest of Southwestern Pennsylvania. He planned the house for his
customers, the Kaufmann family. Fallingwater was constructed around 1936 and 1939.
It is an incomparable sample of Wright's idea of natural structural planning, which
promotes harmony between people and nature through configuration which coordinated
with its site. Like how the structures, decorations, and environment turn out to be a
piece of a bound together, interrelated composition.
What is Azuma house so different from the others? Firstly, it is a continuous facade with
no slits, aside from a small skylight. Aside from its internal –facing glass dividers and
negligible wood complete, most of the envelope is cast concrete. With the use of cast
concrete, it affects the heating and cooling of the courtyard. The other thing that makes
this building unique is the courtyard. It becomes an integral part of the house’s
circulation system. It acts as a window accepting light and wind so that nature can seep
in and interact with the interior space. In addition , complex shadows are being formed
due to the occurrence light.
Whereby for Fallingwater, it’s composition is horizontal, although to some degree of
complex. The vertical pivot is characterized by the stack that emerges over the deck.
The building develops from inside outwards and is spreading as indicated by the needs
of its residence. Therefore, it can be amended as in the natural structural planning
building is conceived as a living thing.
Fig.2.0
Fig 2.0 indicates the reinforced concrete used in Azuma House.
Reinforced concrete is the only ornamentation for the Azuma House. This is so that it
sticks with the concept of simplicity and brutality. In addition, reinforced concrete is one
of the most widely used materials in modern building. Likewise, reinforced concrete is
very strong because steel bars are embedded in concrete to form a composite materials
to overcome poor tensile strength.
The materiality of Ando’s works is of incredible significance. Working with smooth-as-
silk concrete, he makes spaces using walls which he defines as the most fundamental
components of architecture, but also the most enriching. His various combinations of
pillar, wall and vault elements constantly prove exhilarating and dynamic. His design
concepts and materials have a crucial role in the artistic taste of his work. The smooth
fondling of the cast in place concrete combining with the thin transparency of glass and
the toughness of steel complete his style from which he paints. He doesn't polish, rather
he utilizes the ruthless magnificence of concrete formwork to composition his structures,
inside and out.
The evenly dived holes in the concrete, which have become almost an Ando trademark,
are the consequence of bolts that hold the covering together. Ando’s concrete is both
structure and surface, never covered or plastered over.
Fig 2.1
Fig 2.1 Shows the vertical window framed in steel
Fig 2.2
Fig 2.2 Stones laid down in horizontal uneven level to show the natural stone laying.
Materials used in falling water are used to reflect the rustic characters of the sites and
they were solid, stone rugosa, local stone, wood , steel and glass. The objective was to
produce a greener space to be striking counterpoint to the hectic urban environment in
which the elements (water, Light, wind) and vegetation blend with human action. Thus
the utilized of nearby stones and timber.
The stones were being laid in a shifting manners to show natural stone laying. On the
other hand, the concrete is being used , it is to used to diminish the harsh edges of the
stones. Not only concrete does that, but it also embellishment into shapes effortlessly in
because of its fluidity. Where by, the material steel acts as the strength to the concrete.
The steel covered the house railings and windows frameworks. Certain parts of the
dividers are secured with solid as well as clear glass to give the inhabitants a wide view
and a decent vibe of nature.
The most basic structure is the cantilever that is covered by the concrete reinforced by
interwoven rods. The cantilevered patios and the local rocks quarried stone walls
resembles the nearby rocks formations are intended to be in the harmony. The one that
acts as the central core is the vertical wall structure which function is to stabilize the
cantilevered trays and most of the part of the building. Whereby the terraces are made
up of beams and joints inside of them with solid structures that resembles an egg crater.
The piers and the buttresses are the one that the very bottom that helps to hold the load
of the entire building.
The sound of how the water permeated the house, particularly in the midst of the spring
and when the snow falls and melts. The configuration joins the broad windows and the
balconies which reach out into their environment. The staircase that is driving down to
the living room to the stream is gotten to through portable flat glass panes. Fallingwater
is designed to incorporate with the nature. The construction of the vertical core and the
structure of cantilever made an astounding illusion for the building. The materials
utilized in this development expressed naturally to the site and above all the waterfall.
It can be summarized that the above comparison for both buildings that Azuma House
is more of a boxy rough house which is more to simplicity where it only uses single
material to build and made up with. Whereas for the fallingwater, it is more of a complex
construction as it was constructed with a numbers of materials which each of them
serve different purposes .
References
Concrete intentions-Tadao Ando. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2015, from http://www.insideoutside.in/inside-outside/issue-magazine/1437/concrete-intentions-tadao-ando
Frank Lloyd Wright - Fallingwater. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2015, from http://usahomeandgarden.com/architecture/fallingwater/fallingwater.html
Futagawa, Y. (1994). Azuma House, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan, 1975-76, Koshino House, Ashiya, Hyogo, Japan 1979-81/1983-84, Kidosaki House, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 1982-86: Architect: Tadao Anda. Tokyo: A. D. A. Edita.
Row House | ArchiTravel. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2015, from http://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/row-house-azuma-house/
Tadao Ando: Azuma House, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan, 1975-76 : Koshino House, Ashiya, Hyogo, Japan, 1978-81/1983-84 : Kidosaki House, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 1982-86. (1994). Tokyo, Japan: A.D.A. Edita Tokyo.
Zevi, B., & Kaufmann, E. (1965). La Casa sulla Cascata di F.L. Wright = F. Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (2a ed.). Milano: Et/as Kompass.
(n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2015, from http://courses.washington.edu/arch587/3.assignments/2.Style_Analysis/style-andrew.pdf
(n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2015, from http://www.fallingwater.org/assets/12_The_Structure_And_Materials_Of_Fallingwater.pdf
Comparison Essay
Frank Llyod Wright (Falling Water)&
Tadao Ando(Azuma House)
Components
Doors, walls & windows
Kimberly Wong Jin Siew
0315145
There are many features that made up a building that made it different from others that
made their architecture special. The significance of architecture is like which a famous
architect Le Corbusier quoted “Architecture is the magnificent play of forms under light,
the coherent construct of the mind which has nothing to do with decoration. The great
building, the difficult and high-flown works bequeathed by time, but it is also in the
smallest hovel, in an enclosure-wall, in everything sublime or modest which contains
sufficient geometry to establish a mathematical relationship.” Thus we can also be
categories into factors such as spatial organization, external façade, massing, lights and
shadows, circulation in the building, cross ventilation and components.
Architect Tadao Ando uses concrete in his design which is influenced from the great
architect such as Le Corbusier. His work of Rokko Housing in Kobe, Japan which idea
was derived from Le Corbusier’s Roq et Rob terrace housing of 1949. In addition to Le
Corbusier style of architecture he also prefers to refer to architect such as Frank Llyod
Wright. At which they are architects of the modern era, they are compared at times at
which to find their similarities and differences in their style of designs. To the point, one
of the most important factors to the design of the buildings is the components that play a
very significant role to the design. There are always important choices to which to
choose each component wisely that need to be part of the building.
Now we are comparing important elements of the building such as doors, walls and
windows. As these three elements are key factors to provide ventilation as well as
entrance to the building. We are comparing those elements between the design of
Azuma house by Tadao Ando and Falling Water by Frank Llyod Wright.
Firstly, the walls of the Falling Water which are categorize as the spatial organization of
the entire building which as mentioned in McCarter, Robert. On And By Frank Llyod
Wright. Phaidon Press Limited, 2005. Print. They resembles the famous painting
Russian Dance by Theo van Doesburg,1918 and also has associated to the Brick
Country House project of 1923 by Mies van der Rohe. (Hoffmann, Donald, and Frank
Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. New York: Dover Publications, 1993.
Print.) It described one of the walls foundations which extended approximately 15 feet
from the crest of the waterfall and one of the stone foundation walls which are projected
into the stream to withstand the heavy drifting of time of flood. The walls are position in
a way that they come in a massive form to perception of manipulation to arrangements
using the sense of proprioception. In another way to say it, that the bodily position which
helps to spread the volume of a space according to the influence of the environment
which constrains only limited volume to only unfolds which also speaks for the positions
of the walls being build (McCarter, Robert. Frank Lloyd Wright. London: Reaktion
Books, 2006. Print.)
Unlike the walls on Tadao Ando’s Azuma house are four uniformly constructed walls,
this returns to the typical Tadao Ando’s concept of emptiness in the space in order to
standardize heterogeneous to many parts of sizes and complexity of the walls in the
building. Therefore to accommodate uniform composition of walls in the exterior of
which create a rectangular composition the building with significance to the Church of
the Light, Azuma house’s walls are also free standing concrete walls. That also creates
large volume to the inside thus associate to the nothingness to his minimalist design.
(Buckley, Sandra. Encyclopedia Of Contemporary Japanese Culture. London:
Routledge, 2002. Print., Baek, Jin. Nothingness. Abingdon [England]: Routledge, 2009.
Print., Farrelly, Lorraine. Construction + Materiality. Lausanne: AVA Academia, 2009.
Print.)
Next is to describe about the arrangements of the doors in Frank Llyod Wright’s
building. As for the Falling Water design, from the research on the floor plans, noticed
the doors are placed near the stairs or the walkway at which the house have many
pathways leading to the rooms. The doors are placed nearby the stairs where it is
convenient to enter the building without walking a distance. Every door seems to be
closer to each other, either placed next or right in front of each other where it does
made it easier to enter to another side of the room. As also the building has already
many corners, the position of the doors made it easier to find the way to the other side
like shown in figure 1.
Figure 1
As for the Azuma house which accommodate minimalist to its design concept in a small
house with only 3.3 meters wide with limited ornaments to the building and which only
there is just a door as the entrance and four more others that are built into the uniformly
constructed walls that divides the houses into two parts by the center courtyard. The
doors are used to enter the rooms whereby there is an open space above the center
courtyard at which the walkway which is connected to the two bedrooms in the first floor
and the ground floor of the courtyard will accommodate to the environment. The
purpose of Ando’s design is to allow architectural composition of light, natural elements,
materials and form to harmonize with the building design, as that said the doors will the
as a coverage from the natural dealings such as rain to get into the rooms when they
are being closed. Floor plans and elevation showed in Figure 2. (Buckley, Sandra.
Encyclopedia Of Contemporary Japanese Culture. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.)
Figure 2
Lastly are the windows when referred to the floor plans from the Falling Water, the
composition of the windows are distributed to many parts to the main parts of the
building to which some parts are surrounded by glass windows to create an openness
to the interior spaces to bring the practice of equality to both spaces to the inside and
the outside. As also to bring the organic concept firmly to the surrounding mass of the
building the windows invaded to many parts of the floor plans to accommodate the room
to have the same feeling throughout and even composition of individuality for the rooms
to have the experience of having the forest lights and sounds of the moving water to
enhance and respect the environment. Floor plan showed in Figure 3. (Weston,
Richard. Plans, Sections And Elevations: Key Buildings Of The Twentieth Century
Plans, Sections And Elevations Series. Laurence King Publishing, 2004, 2004. Print.,
Hauffe, Thomas. Art And Design: Design: A Concise History. Dundee: SCCC, 1998.
Print.)
Figure 3
The Azuma house, the windows are uniform arrangements of four windows which
create a climax to the composition of to the space, which is quite similar to another
Tadao Ando’s creation like example the Nakanoshima Project where the spaces within
the building is where the gap between the two grids which is accommodated with a
curve shape wall in between them, example of Azuma house floor plan in Figure 4. As
Tadao Ando’s building also includes light to the concept to it, which he blends in from
the important of his Japanese traits and brings it to a modern design the volume created
by the walls which allows spaces in the interior where materials vanishes and light has
become it’s medium where light enters and shows it’s significant quality where it
penetrates through spaces where it allows to enter. The enclosed walls which create
darkness to the interior where light will interplay which also giving its intensity. (Baek,
Jin. Nothingness. Abingdon [England]: Routledge, 2009. Print., Hien, Pham Thanh.
Abstraction And Transcendence. [Parkland, Fla.?]: Dissertation.Com, 1998. Print.)
Figure 4
In conclusion, there are many significant trait marks to every designers which also have
their individual their creative requirement and desire on how they would like to
correspond the building to harmonize to its surrounding. The interplay of natural factors
such as lights, wind, water, heat and the earth which allows the beautiful connection to
the building where it could be more than just a structure that is being build. This
whereby a tribute to the famous building such as example of Falling Water of Frank
Llyod Wright which successfully brought organic architecture to life which not only each
interrelated components, furnishings and the exterior to the building which becomes
unified to the site surroundings to harmonize the two worlds of human habitats into the
natural world. As quoted by Frank Llyod Wright, “I want you to live with the waterfall, not
just to look at it, but for it to become an integral part of your lives.” Tadao Ando’s design
also successfully convince that emptiness to the space doesn’t make it boring when he
gets to allow the interplay with light and shadows to the concrete surface where he can
do so much with so little where the light will do all the confrontation to his design.
Together with so little ornament to the space which allows the focus of the significance
of light and shadow. That brings intensity to the darkness of the space which he
inherited from the Japanese tradition which brings the richness to the darkness. (Hien,
Pham Thanh. Abstraction And Transcendence. [Parkland, Fla.?]: Dissertation.Com,
1998. Print.)
References:
http://openbuildings.com/buildings/azuma-house-profile-41717
http://www.archdaily.com/60022/ad-classics-fallingwater-frank-lloyd-wright/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/452471093784087368/
FACADE
by
Patricia Kong Weng Yee
Architecture is defined as the activity of designing and planning buildings. As quoted
by Julia Morgan, “Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves”.
Tadao Ando has been well known with the use of natural lighting in all of his houses'
designs. His building are designed based on geometrical shapes like square, rectangles,
circles etc. This is in order to not disturb the relation to where 'Shintai' is stimulated in
which the geometrical order creates a frame and a physical limit (Thanh Hien, 1998).
Frank Lloyd Wright, on the other hand, is one of the well known modern architect master.
With his famus dictum which is “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will
never fail you”, he paid attention to most of the details relating to nature and appreciate the
form of nature given to him. Thus, his designs are mostly based on suprematism, whereby
it is defined as an art movement characterized by plain geometric shapes associated with
the idea of sacred act. This can be seen through his other works too. In architecture,
facade is said to be one of the most important elements in a building. The facade plays a
role of setting a tone for the rest of the building. The question is, how does the facade do
that? Therefore, in this case, this paper is going to compare the facades of Tadao Ando's
building, the Azuma House with Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and explain the three
main points. The three main points that this paper is going to talk about is the settings, the
materials and the style of the facade designed by Tadao Ando and Frank Lloyd Wright.
First of all, The Azuma House also known as the Row House in Sumiyoshi is
designed by Tadao Ando. This house is known for its perfectly squared rectangle with its
open courtyard. It was built to replace one of the traditional houses that is made of wood in
the neighbourhood. As it is set in a crammed, urban core of Osaka row – houses, Tadao
Ando designed a simple narrow concrete rectangular residence where it has the tendency
to stand out without breaking the rhythm of the street (Dao, 2015). This is because during
1970s, it is said that the perception of Japanese towns at that time, with a chaotic nature,
was to be judged pessimitically, thus, Azuma House was designed to re-establish the
existence of a well maintained traditional relationship between the Japanese with their
surrounding environment. This can be supported by Alofsin (1999) as he gave Tadao
Ando as an example for his statement about the increasing of contemporary designers
who starts reinforcing traditional qualities into their work. This can be seem especialy in
their formwork. This idea of design can also be seen in some of his other buildings. For
example, his well – known Koshino House, whereby he designed two rectangular prism to
convey the basic nature of the site (Metcalf, 2011). Other examples of houses are the 4x4,
Benesse House and the Kidosaki House. On the other hand, Frank Lloyd Wright's building
called Fallingwater which was built for businessman and philantropist, Edgar J. Kaufmann.
The building, farby has a beautifulliy designed facade as it shows the characteristics of the
inhabitants who are nature loving people. Frank Lloyd Wright's client, Edgar J. Kaufmann
and his wife initially wanted the building with the view of the waterfall, but Frank Lloyd
Wright instead wants them to live with the waterfall and make it as a part of their everyday
life. As he once quoted “No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of
the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other”.
Figure 1 above shows the exterior of the Koshino House which blends into the nature
Secondly, as for the materials of the facade, Tadao Ando designed the Azuma
House with minimal composition of pure concrete to form the front facade as well as to
show the contrast between the building and the neighbours. With an addition to that, his
obsession of having very little ornamental or none at all on his building shows the sense of
cleanliness and weightlessness at the same. The concrete, aside from creating a sense of
peace, it also allows Tadao Ando's building to embrace the changing patterns of light and
wind. This, or so should it be rephrase, Tadao Ando's “poetical adaptation” of concrete
creates a minimalist feel towards his building thus bolstering Mies Van Der Rohe's dictum
of “less is more”. As he once quoted, “If you give people nothingness, they can ponder
what can be achieved from that nothingness” and “I do not believe architecture should
speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind
speak”.
Figure 2 above shows the external facade of the Azuma House to show the sense of
weightlessness and simplicity.
In contrast, due to the influence by the Japanese architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright
designed the building in a way that it would create a balanced between human and nature.
Thus using natural materials to intergrate the building with the waterfall. Frank Lloyd
Wright uses several materials for his building's exterior structure like bricks and stone for
their natural colour. This can be seen in most of his buildings which are the Robie House,
Zimmerman House and Yokodo Guest House (The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, 2015).
Figure 3 above shows one of Frank Lloyd Wright's works : the Robie House
Last but not least, Tadao Ando's style of designing can be said to be simple and it is
able to create an “haiku” effect where “haiku” in Japanese means the combination of
nature and human. By designing a simple raw concrete building with closed facades and
forming three similarly sized spaces around the central courtyard, it sends a clear
message from Tadao Ando to the inhabitants : to ensure a retainence of links between the
inhabitants or people in general with the natural elements. Besides that, the building
facade is also designed in a way that it is a windowless well – ventilated facade. This
ensures a control in temperature and sound as well as water repellent insulation in the
building. In comparison to Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright designed the building by using
a masonry facade. He also included several element of the Prairie Style in Fallingwater. It
is said that the Prairie Style was invented by Frank Lloyd Wright himself and it is the first
original American architectural style. The elements of Prairie Style can be seen through
the long low horizontal pattern. Other than that, the Fallingwater has ornamentations which
are the clerestory windows. The clerestory windows consist of a line of narrow windows
which can be seen along the very top of the house (Perez, 2015).
Figure 4 above shows the Prairie style which can be seen along the low and horizontal
pattern of the building.
In conclusion, a facade can set a tone for the building with the materials used, the
site where the building is located and its surrounding and also the architect's way of
designing. Looking at Tadao Ando's Azuma House external facade, it gives people an odd
sensation. Not only does it seem plain which could let their imagination turn wild, it
somehow feels claustrophobic where one would feel confined and isolated from the
outside. As for Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, with the wide varieties of bricks and
stones, the building does seem to blend in with the nature surrounding it, creating a serene
harmony and thus living up to its name in Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy which is called
the organic architecture. The site of the building matters as it would be the main reason to
design the building and place it there. In Tadao Ando's case, the Azuma House was to
replace one of the traditional house in that neighbourhood and blend in with the
surrounding. Although it does stands out among the traditional houses, it does not really
give the impression of a building designed by a well known architect. Staying in
Fallingwater would be comfortable and peaceful as it is said that the sound of the waterfall
can be heard even from being inside the house. There is a stairs leading towards the
waterfall which one could go down and enjoy it. Although construction wise, eventhough
the house is remarkably placed on the waterfall and not on the solid ground, it requires
constant maintainence as the building has structural problems (Hoffmann, 1993). On the
other hand, Tadao Ando's style of designing is very minimalist as it is plain and simple
which gives a calm look to the building. Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style gives more
volume and structure to the building.
REFERENCE LIST:
1. Alofsin, A. (1999). Frank Lloyd Wright: Europe and Beyond (p. 39). University of
California Press, 1999.
2. Dao, Y. (2015). Zumthor Vs. Ando (p. 26). ISSUU.
3. Hoffmann, D. (1993). Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater: The House and Its History
(pp. 39 - 44). Courier Corporation.
4. Metcalf, T. (2011). AD Classics: Koshino House / Tadao Ando. Arch Daily.
Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/161522/ad-classics-koshino-house-tadao-
ando/
5. Perez, A. (2015). AD Classics: Fallingwater House / Frank Lloyd Wright. Arch Daily.
Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/60022/ad-classics-fallingwater-frank-lloyd-
wright/
6. Thanh Hien, P. (1998). Abstraction and Transcendence: Nature, Shintai, and
Geometry in the Architecture of Tadao Ando (p. 132). Universal-Publishers, 1998.
7. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation,. (2015). The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Retrieved 9 June 2015, from http://www.franklloydwright.org/work/index.html