Around age 18, he started visiting Japanese temples, shrines, tea houses and other buildings including Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel. Ando also studied architecture by going to see buildings, reading books and analyzing and tracing drawings. In his 20s, he made study trips to Europe and the United States to analyze the great buildings of western civilization. Le Corbusler, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn were the architects who influenced Ando the most. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind speak.
Ando architecture speaks volumes.
Carolyn Armenta Davis of Chicago, IL, is an award-winning writer, producer and founder of The Design Diaspora.