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Architecture / Render
Church on the Water
"You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see."
Tadao Ando (1988)
design analysis
2016-2
Hokkaido, Japan
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Dominated by primary geometry, which is square. But there is one circle (the smallest in size) which bridges the journey and becomes an important part of the journey. So once again, even though they are different in shape and size, they are not competing for domination but instead working together to create a solemn journey.
Ando created the wall to isolate the building from the surrounding “unnatural landscape”. But now he let people to enter from the front side of the building to “see” what the building looks like. However, once people get in, his architectural language truly says that there is a very different sense on what people feel when making the
ambulatory movement. I believe that people would feel like they are in another world, especially after going down to the main building and feel the intimacy and
calmness of the view.
Water is a very important element in this building, and without it I think this building is less interesting. In Christianity, water symbolises purification, and here by creating the microcosm of seeing God from the main building, people could see the crucifix looks like come out from the water and floating on it. He cleverly shows this idea of purification and God’s creation of the nature which the water will reflect the surrounding natural landscape.
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