Tadao Ando revisits his career in major Centre Pompidou retrospective, opening Oct. 10

The Centre Pompidou in Paris will be hosting a major retrospective of the one and only Tadao Ando, the Pritzker laureate known for his masterful integration of natural elements and simple geometric volumes, and his well-known emphasis on the physical experience of space. 

Opening on October 10, “Tadao Ando: The Challenge” lets visitors delve into key principles behind his designs through four main themes: the simplicity of space; the urban challenge; project genesis; and dialogue with the past. The exhibition was curated by Frédéric Migayrou (deputy director of the Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre de Création Industrielle) and Yuki Yoshikawa (associate curator, with Tadao Ando Architect & Associates).

Highlighting different periods of Ando's career, the exhibition gathers 50 of the architect's major projects, which are depicted in 180 drawings, and 70 original plans and slideshows. Ando, along with his architectural practice, designed the staging of some of his major projects for the exhibition, including: the Azuma House in Sumiyoshi (1976), Naoshima (1988 to the present day), the Church of Light (1989), and the upcoming La Bourse de Commerce in Paris (fall 2019).

The heart of the exhibition also showcases a section called “Naoshima”, which represents Ando's dialogue with the natural landscape of Naoshima Island. This section is accompanied by graphite drawings, travel notebooks, and photos taken by Ando himself, which have never been publicly shown to a European audience before.

“Architecture also involves creating places for the community. I produce my architecture by asking myself how I can create things that remain forever imprinted on people’s souls,” Ando says in an interview with exhibition co-curator Frédéric Migayrou.

“Tadao Ando: The Challenge” will be open at the Centre Pompidou through December 31, 2018.