And whatever became of the four-legged Corbusier? Tadao’s and Yumiko’s faces saddened when I asked. Their beloved companion tripped one day, fell down several floors and died inside Ando’s studio in Osaka, a concrete space without windows 　 one fortress that could not protect Le Corbusier.

ROLAND HAGENBERG   In Western civilizations the definition of beauty is close to the laws of geometry and synonymous with perfection. How would you define beauty in your work?

TADAO ANDO   Japan’s interpretation of beauty is less static and it can be found in constant changes 　 in the coming and going of seasons for instance; in the fluctuations of light caused by the weather; in the colorful alterations of nature. We experience this through intuition. My own definition of beauty lies somewhere in-between the Western and the Japanese interpretation.

RHAs an architect you have always emphasized your responsibility for the environment and warned us not to rely too much on “thinking by logic” alone.

TAWestern thinking emphasizes logic and logic drives the economy. The keyword is improvement. In the East we rely more on intuition drawn from nature, but this alone does not allow us to act on a global scale. To do so, we must use the logic platform of the West. The Western influence has spread everywhere, especially into Third World countries, where medicine and technology support an out-of-control population growth. This dangerous circle can only be broken if we blend Western logic with Eastern intuition. As a creative person I have to deal with this dilemma every day on a personal level.

RHTo bring order into your creative chaos?

TAIf you want to be creative, your work cannot be based on facts and logic alone. You need wisdom. Too many people believe they can be creative because they know a lot. But that’s not enough. First you have to experience feelings yourself before you set out to move other people’s hearts with your work.