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TADAO ANDO (1941-)
Ando was born in Osaka, Japan, and grew up with his great-grandmother. He worked as a boxer and fighter before settling on architect. Struck by the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel, he attended night classes to learn drawing and took correspondence courses on interior design. He returned to Osaka in 1968 to establish his own design studio. In 1995, Ando won the Pritzker Prize and donated the $100,000 prize money to orphans of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The following are only his houses in the US. There are many more in Japan.
1975-76 - The Azuma House aka Sumiyoshi Row House, Osaka Japan. A rectangular plan divided into three sections, with rooms at the front and back, connected by a bridge through a central courtyard designed to play with wind and light.
1980-1981; 1983-1984 – The Koshino House, Ashiya City, Japan. The house features two parallel rectangular concrete boxes linked by a tunnel beneath an exterior staircase. A boldly curved study area, added later, enhances the space and is partially embedded in the ground.
1981-1983; 1987-1993; 1997-1998 – Rokko Housing I, II, III, Kobe, Japan. The first phase features a 3D grid with 20 apartment units stepping back on a hillside, utilizing lower-level roofs as terraces. The second phase, built around vertically overlapping square grids, offers unexpected views and includes three types of gardens—private, communal, and public—to foster different communal relationships. The third phase is a large-scale project with crisscrossing plazas serving as communal spaces between buildings.
1997 - The Fred Eychaner/Ken Lee House, 655 West Wrightwood Avenue, Chicago IL. Next door, Ando also completed in 2018 a non-residential exhibition space for Eychaner called Wrightwood 659, bottom photo.
2003 – The 4 X 4 House, Hyogo, Japan. A pair of houses, each based on a 4 x 4 meter plot size, with a glass facade.
2009 - The Tom Ford House, Stable, and Mausoleum, aka Cerro Pelon Ranch, 5547 Highway 41 North, Galisteo NM. The property encompasses 20,662 acres (32 square miles). Guest houses designed by Marmol Radziner. Sold in 2021 to Fred Haas. For sale in 2022.
2013 - The Richard Sachs House, 24844 Malibu Road, Malibu CA. 3665 sf. Architect of record was Tadao Ando with Marmol Radziner as builder and Executive Architect. Sold in 2021 to Kanye West, who over the next few years gutted it, and it sold in that condition in 2024 to Steven Belmont. Marmol Radziner will do the remodel.
2014 - The William J. (Bill) and Maria Bell Residence, aka Rosebud Ventures LLC House, 27712 East Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu CA. 40,000 sf. 8 acres. Commissioned around 1999, took 15 years to build. Designed with WHY Architects. Built by Peter McCoy. Sold in 2023 to Beyonce and Jay-Z for what was at the time the largest sale of a house in California, $200M.
2018 - The 152 Elizabeth Street Condominiums, 152 Elizabeth Street, New York NY.
2024 - The Kim Kardashian House, 52380 Ross Avenue, La Quinta CA. 2 acres. Commissioned around 2020. Land purchased from a firm owned by Ron Burkle. Kris Jenner and Kylie Jenner also own property in that neighborhood.
2024 – The Armani Beach Residences, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. Designed in collaboration with Sharjah developer Arada and the Armani Group, this 8,361-square-meter building will feature 53 homes. Ando's design includes a glass and concrete facade with a semicircular opening and curved terraces overlooking a ground-floor pool and private beach. The residences will offer two to five-bedroom homes, penthouses, and two presidential suites. Completion is set for the end of 2026.
Sources: Research by Catherine Cramer.