Casa BRUTUS No. 30

Casa BRUTUS No. 30: The Grand Tour with ANDO
Chieko Yoshiie (Editor in Chief)
Casa BRUTUS, September 2002

Paperback | 9 x 11-1/4 inches | 164 pages | Japanese/English

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

For four years from 1965 until the founding of his architectural firm, Ando Tadao worked a part-time in jobs related to architecture to earn money to travel throughout Europe and the United States. Ando refers to this time in his life as his "Grand Tour." Casa asked Ando about the importance of taking such journeys.

dDAB COMMENTARY/IMAGES:

The "world tour" that photographer Iwan Baan takes readers on in the summer 2021 issue of See All This, reviewed yesterday, reminded me of another, much older magazine in my library: the September 2002 issue of Casa BRUTUS that takes readers on "The Grand Tour with ANDO." The semi-bilingual issue follows Japanese architect Tadao Ando around the world, retracing the steps of his own "grand tour" in the 1960s and then looking at Ando's own architecture in Japan and around the world. Rather than writing a review of such an old issue (one that I think might have been updated years later, though I can't confirm that), I've snapped some photos from inside the issue and present those below with captions. So much has been written on Ando that only die-hard fans will want to search out this old issue, especially ones in Japan or who know Japanese, given that only portions of the Japanese text were translated into English.

The issue first presents the route of Ando's global tours in the 1960s, what are considered his self-training in architecture.

Next, the issue follows Ando to some cities where was working on projects at the time: Paris, New York (pictured), Rome (below), and Fort Worth, Texas.

The candid shots of Ando, as in the Pantheon in Rome, capture the buildings that were important to him during his studies — and remained so during his practice.

The English translations are grouped on matte paper in the center of the issue, mainly featuring interviews with Ando; here he is seen in his Osaka office, which was just 26 people at the time.

Some fashion spreads by Viktor and Rolf follow the English texts, juxtaposing and literally cutting up models in front of Ando's famous churches.

The piece in the issue most geared to practicing architects is "The Secret of ANDO Revealed," which documents step-by-step the construction of Ando's super-smooth concrete walls.

Unfortunately, no English translation is provided for the "secret."

Next is the presentation of eight Ando projects built outside of Japan: in France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and the UK; pictured is the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, which was completed in 2001 and which Ando expanded in 2015.

Following the global presentation are longer features on six Ando projects in Japan; each one has a paragraph with some "guidance" from Ando, but unfortunately only in Japanese.

Next is a gazetteer to 22 Ando buildings in Japan with maps and descriptions; English text follows on a separate spread, making this section handy for people who want to visit Ando buildings in Japan from the 1990s and early 2000s.

Ando (seen here in his pre-architect boxer days) provided advice to six "opponents," each one caricatured by a friend of Ando's; thankfully, this advice is translated on the English pages.

The last piece in the book is an unexpected one: a correspondence between Ando and Wim Wenders, a filmmaker with a strong interest in architecture.