I have always been annoyed by Tadao Ando‘s self seriousness which always pushes him to develop only an architecture of solemnity, reserved to the gods rather than the humans. HOWEVER, I just discovered (it was about time probably !) the library he designed for the Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum in Osaka (2001) and I was very much seduced by it, so much that it made me forget any kind of grief I used to have against him !
Too many architects, when designing a library, accomplish beautiful works (I am thinking of Toyo Ito’s Tama Art University Library or Louis Kahn’s Phillips Exeter Academy Library) but tend to forget to include the books are essential generator of their architecture. On the contrary with Ando here, the shelves compose a magnificent vertical wall and each book require an important effort to access, as if they needed to be deserved in order to be read.
Je crois que c’est vraiment bien quand un projet peut nous faire changer complètement nos opinions (préjugés ?) sur un architecte. Je suis plutôt d’accord avec ton avis sur Ando de manière générale, en particulier ce que tu dis sur son “self-seriousness”. Ceci dit, cette bibliothèque est extraordinaire, et l’idée du livre comme quelque chose qui se mérite est intéressante, en notre époque de iPads, livres en pdf, amazon.com etc.
as-tu vu la bibliothèque de Sou Fujimoto pour la Musashino Art University ?
WOW !!! C’est superbe !!! Merci beaucoup. J’en ferai sans doute un deuxieme post !
The statement: “the books need t obe deserved to be read,” is the most pretentious statement I have ever heard. It is like saying the book should be on a pedestal, elevated to a level high above humans…
I don’t understand why my interpretation of Tadao Ando’s architecture is pretentious. I started my post by saying that this “elevation” (as you wrote) of Ando’s architecture is normally something that annoys me. However, here the beauty of such “divine” architecture moves me and allows me to understand better his choices.
When I saw the first picture I think that it was the Sou Fujimoto’s project . I didn’t know it.
You can see this project too by Dosmasuno arquitectos: Biblioteca y Museo de la Universidad de Alcalá : http://www.e-architect.co.uk/madrid/biblioteca_alcala.htm
Hello Pedro !
What I love with Ando is what I am used to dislike with him, a certain dose of sacredness that weirdly enough speaks to me when books are concerned. The project by Dosmasuno Arquitectos, on the contrary, seems to consider those shelves more as a decoration or worse as a supermarket which annoys me.
Thank you for sharing though !
I hope that you’re doing well.
How does the readers reach those books?
“How does the reader reach those books?”…..
That is probably the most pertinent question any architect could ever ask. there is an almost peculiar discordance with the contingencies of reading and going to a library. The architectural language of this work certainly receives appreciation and awe, yet simultaneously it creates inconvenience when one looks for a book. Most would agree there is beauty in looking for a book and browsing around for another that was never initially known, true spontaneity ( this would be substantially harder in a rolling stair).
There should always be a balance between architectural idiosyncrasy, and architectural purpose.
For in this library, a man who has no legs will have no knowledge; who are we to take it away from him…
Firmatas, Utilitas, Venustas
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