Günter Figal – Ando

The fact that discussions of architecture are largely unchartered

territory in philosophy leads the phenomenological and

hermeneutical philosopher Günter Figal onto its unexplored

paths. After previously surveying the work of Frank Lloyd

Wright and Peter Zumthor, Figal turns his attention to Tadao

Ando’s buildings in this book. Figal’s philosophical considerations

include refl ections on space, modernity, but also—in

light of the fact that many of Ando’s buildings are museums

or house works of art—on art.

Figal explores Ando’s buildings—simple and reduced in their

sparing use of only a few materials—as manifestations of the

architect’s sense for what is possible. Ando’s buildings determine

and change their locations; through their passageways,

staircases, and transitional areas, they infl uence how visitors

behave in them, and also communicate a sense of tradition

without being traditional. Figal’s book steps away from the

beaten track of architectural discourse.