Tada(o)!

Today was the easiest wednesday of my semester so far. Two classes were cancelled for unrelated reasons, so I had an unproductive morning and finally decided to do something and so I drove down to see Tadao Ando's Pulitzer museum.
It's a very simple building, what makes it really compelling is the craftsmanship and detail. The spaces created are really not so sublime, but I spent ten minutes staring at the connection of how a framed wall meets a concrete wall and how they meet the floor. Astoundingly meticulous craftsmanship of the workers (Ando actually brought some Japanese construction workers to help) and the crispness of the detailing. It's nice if you can get away with it- the construction cost for the museum has supposedly never been released. Really, there are only a few simple materials in construction. There's wood, concrete, brick, steel, gypsum board, paint, and a variety of "surface treatments" like stone or tile or whatever. The Ando building is made of probably the same materials you have in your home. But its like a master chef with a lot more deliberation. There must be an Ando, but there also must be the craftmen, not just contractors, but real craftsmen, to translate the fine detailing into reality, and also of course, the wealthy client, without which there would be no Ando or craftsmen.