Tadao Ando won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-182).

The process of Ando's architecture -- Visions and concepts -- Literature review -- General comments -- The meaning of life and distinctive architecture -- Intention, principle and concepts -- Architecture and Eastern-Western traditions -- Critics on the theme Geometry -- The transformation of space -- Form and structure -- Critics on the theme Nature -- Modulation of light -- Sense of urbanism and relationships-place attachment -- Critics on the theme Shintai -- Man's sensibility -- Daily life activities -- Japanese traditions -- Origins and Ando's theme nature, and shintai -- Origins and nature -- Origins and shintai -- Geographical landmarks -- Religious and philosophical encounters - the roots of Ando's architecture -- Religions -- The influence of Shintoism to Ando's theme nature -- Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Ando's themes -- Philosophies -- Buddhism as philosophy -- Yuasuo Yuasa's psychological philosophy -- Kurokawa and the philosophy of symbiosism -- Japanese culture and its relation to Ando's architectural sensibility -- Samurai -- Swordsmanship -- Satory -- Haiku -- Rikyu and The Art of Tea -- Love of nature -- Japanese characteristics and their relations to main themes of Ando -- Experience -- Exotic -- Exlectic -- Harmony -- Aesthetic -- Cultivation -- Self-trained attitude -- The philosophy of the body -- Most important issues -- The interpretation of Ando's architecture and his main themes -- Tadao Ando's positions, theoretical concepts, philosophy, approaches -- Ando and the discourse -- Theoretical concepts -- Geometrical standard and poetical essences -- Concepts of nature -- Concepts of place (body and space) -- Ando's Philosophy and traditional inheritance -- Philosophical grounds: East--West encounter -- Philosophical applications -- Heir to tradition -- Ando's approaches -- Defining intentions of architecture -- Creating symbolic spaces and formal spatiality -- The betweeness, Middle-way, and non dualistic approach -- The infinity with oppositional dialogues (Shintai relations) -- Negation and abstraction -- Themes -- Nature -- Element of nature -- Tangible nature--Preserving nature's generations -- Place and culture -- The negation of greenery -- Water: symbolic and experiential meanings -- Sky: symbolic and experiential meanings -- Landscape: Fukei--wind and sunlight -- Intangible nature -- Light and shadow -- Measures applied to create an architecture of nature -- Nature and everyday life, border and enclosed nature -- The modulation of light and shadow -- Shintai -- Shintai relation as the union of spirit and body -- Shintai and the process of design -- Geometry -- Spatial organizational rules. The relation space-form -- The wall as a primordial material and spatial entity -- Spatial meanings of the walls -- The wall of acceptance and negation -- The mirror walls -- Directional walls -- Texture and translucence -- Labyrinths -- Intermediate space as the socialized space -- Original form -- Tension -- The mysterious space -- Pure geometrical and complex space -- Ma -- Wabi -- Oku -- Visions -- What does architecture need to answer? -- End of Architecture -- Architecture and human spirit -- Preserving human needs -- Middle-way approach -- Grounds -- The Japanese origins, and religions -- Buddhist philosophy--logic and language -- Themes -- Nature -- Shintai -- Geometry -- The lesson of Tadao Ando's architecture.

This thesis introduces Tadao Ando, a well-known Japanese architect.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Cincinnati, 1998.