Azuma House (Row House)

Tadao Ando – Row House in Sumiyoshi, Osaka Japan, 1976

Row House in Sumiyoshi (住吉の長屋 Sumiyoshi no Nagaya), Also called Azuma House (東邸 Japanese), is a private residence in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan.
Tadao Ando designed it in his early years of career. The house has no windows to the outside but the rooms overlook an internal courtyard with a transversal walkway.

The relationship that Ando establishes with nature is one of the points that distinguishes his work. Convinced that the relationship between it and the human being is fundamental for the latter, he has established in the construction a way of participation of the inhabitants in nature. In the winter with the cold and rain, or in the heat of the summer, the inhabitants of the house should go outside, since they have to cross the uncovered patio to access the kitchen and the bathroom, feeling the wind or the rain on their faces or being able to look towards the sky.
The open patio is an "oasis" in the hustle and bustle of the city; a place in contact with nature inside the house, allowing the entry of light, air, rain, cold or heat, to watch the clouds pass by or watch the sun; a window that allows you to coexist with nature.
"….. No matter how institutionally or technologically advanced society becomes, a house where nature can be felt represents for me the ideal environment to live in……"
Tadao Ando