4x4 HOUSE

- TADAO ANDO

TADAO ANDO
Born: September 13, 1941
Self taught Japanese architect
• Tadao Ando's body of work is
known for the creative use of
natural light and for structures that
follow natural forms of the
landscape, rather than disturbing
the landscape by making it conform
to the constructed space of a
building.
AWARDS:
• He is the winner of the 1995 pritzker
prize
• Alvar Aalto Medal, 1985
• Carlsberg Architectural Prize, 1992
• RIBA royal gold medal 1997
• AIA Gold Medal2002
• Neutra Medal for Professional
Excellence, 2012
 STYLE:

• Ando was raised in Japan where the religion and style of life strongly

influenced his architecture and design.
• Ando's architectural style is said to create a "haiku" effect, emphasizing
nothingness and empty space to represent the beauty of simplicity.
• He favours designing complex (yet beautifully simple) spatial circulation
while maintaining the appearance of simplicity.
4X4 HOUSE:
• The first house to emerge as a result of a competition organised by a
magazine and presented to the client with the famous architect, Tadao
Ando.
• The 4×4 House was adapted to the requirements of the site. A decisive
factor in the project was the Hanshin earthquake which had caused
terrible devastation in the area.
• An unusual location, on a narrow and chaotic strip of land very close to
the epicentre of the earthquake on the 17th of August 1995, with a
landowner willing to follow his architect.
• He permitted Ando to convert the site into a ground-breaking house,
silently remembering  the great seism.
• Once the construction was finished, another client asked Tadao Ando for
a similar house on a neighbouring piece of land. With this commission,
the architect could complete his original idea of two houses, though
without the communication between them that he had envisioned, and
using different materials.
 LOCATION:
• The houses are located near the Hyogo coast, on the outskirts of Kobe,
along a commercial strip
• It is bordered by a dual carriageway and train tracks to the North and, on
its other side, by the widest-spanning bridge in Japan, the Akashi Strait,
where the sandy beach meets the Seto Inland Sea.
• One of the factors which attracted the architect’s attention was the
view over the island of Awaji.
• the epicentre of the Hanshin earthquake in 1995 and where he built
the Temple of Water and the Yumeibutai.
• The first house was built on a small parcel of land of 65m². The second
on the adjacent plot was 74m².
CONCEPT:
• An important part of the concept of the 4×4 house was not only the treatment of
light and water, but also the sound of the wind.
• The house combined a rigorous use of geometry with the intention to create a
piece of architecture which, in this case, becomes part of the sea. 
• Tadao Ando uses geometric bases for his designs: squares, circles, triangles and
rectangles.
• He is always looking to achieve the balance between the building and the
natural surroundings.
• For Ando it is truly important that the individuals who occupy his buildings have
the spiritual and intellectual experience; like that of reading a poem or listening
to music in a calm and strong environment.
• In this case, the concept is reflected in the displaced cube situated on the highest
level, connecting the individual with the landscape.
• I try to use the forces in a space to restore the unity between the house and
nature.
• Each floor is a concrete mass which together acts like a lighthouse,
dominating the view over the sea.
• The house is of minimal dimensions in terms of floor-span: approximately
4×4 metres which ascends in height (basement, ground floor and three
upper floors).
• The second house is differentiated from the first, essentially in the vertical
circulation and in materials used for its construction.
• While the first comprises a staircase, the second uses an elevator.
• Another difference is the principal material: the original house was built
entirely from concrete, while the second was made from wood.
SPACES:
• On each of the floors a distinct function is developed: a storeroom in the
basement, entryway and service area on the ground floor, a bedroom on the
first floor, study on the second and, on the final floor, a combined kitchen,
dining room and living room which forms the focal point of the house.
• This final level is a 4 metre cube with a floor-to-ceiling glass elevation on the
South-East side which towers over the water like a gigantic, square
telescopic lens and captures the views.
• On the opposite side, a large triforium shows a slice of the sky.
• The displacement of the cube on the final level gains little useful space in
compensation for that occupied by the stairs on the left side, which
emphasise the lineal grid in which the circulation is developed within the
house and extend from the first to the fourth floor.
• The basement, first floor and second are completely closed-in, while the
third is open on one side and the fourth on two.
• Another staircase connects
the entryway with an exterior
concrete platform which
spreads out across the sand
and toward the shore.
•  Ando intended to improve
that part of the beach but
the area’s construction
regulations did not allow it,
even though the property
extended toward the sea.
FACADES:
• On the NORTH FACADE is the , while on the SOUTH FACADE here are two
entranceway, above which there windows of different sizes which correspond with
is a rectangular window the second and third floors.

NORTH ELEVATION SOUTH ELEVATION

FACADES:
The WESTERN FACADE is cut into with four slim
vertical windows on the corner which faces the
street. They illuminate the staircase behind
them and combine with three other small
openings placed at random.
WEST ELEVATION.
The EASTERN FACADE has three smaller
square openings, while on the ground floor
can be seen a vertical window like those on
the Western side.
EAST ELEVATION.
Materials:
• As in the majority of his buildings, Tadao Ando used reinforced concrete
for the structural system of the first construction and exposed concrete
for the exterior walls and interior ceilings.
• He also used this material for the exterior ground surface. The frames of
the windows are aluminium and steel. In the interior, the floors are oak
and the walls are exposed concrete and painted sheets of plaster.
 STRUCTURE:
• Ando encased the house in concrete and, for reasons of privacy, minimised the
openings, principally in the façades which faced the land-side.
• Even in the front façade, there is simply a concrete wall with just one small
window and a door.
• Due to the harsh natural conditions of the area, the architect firmly anchored
the concrete structure below the ground, which strengthens its resistance to
lateral forces.
• In addition to covering the thick glass of the cube with a shatter-proof film, he
reinforced the  glass with steel crossbars.
• Tadao Ando applied a waterproof sealant on all of the exterior concrete
surfaces and placed additional pipes to carry the water to the roof, which could
be accessed by a hatch in the kitchen. The water would then have the sea salt
eliminated from it by means of a hose-based system.
STAIRCASE:
• Visually, the offset cube on the top floor of the building appears much
bigger than the others, however, it is of the same size.
• The organisation of the building is similar to the KEN organisational
framework, a traditional Japanese method which governs the structure
and the additive sequence, from space to space.
• The 4×4 cube, which is displaced a metre from the main vertical axis on
the top floor, together with the vast transparent windows, lend a higher
level of importance to the design.
• The cube produces a seemingly larger visual scale, in spite of it being the
same as the other cubes which form the tower: 4×4.
HIS WORKS:

Vitra Seminar House Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

HIS WORKS:

Meditation Space, UNESCO

Tokyo Skytree (2009)

HIS WORKS:

Suntory Museum in Osaka (1994)

21_21 Design Sight (2007)