A year ago, kwc and I wandered around Omotesando Hills looking for Tadao Ando's Collezione. It's far past the glamour and lights of the area, and were it not for kwc's insistence that the Collezione was in the area, we might have turned back without finding it.
We walked past Omotesando Hills, passing by the more glitzy architecture such as Comme de Garcons (Future Systems) and the Prada Aoyama Epicenter (Herzog & de Meuron) before finding the Collezione on the same street. Upon arriving at the Collezione, I recognized Ando's use of concrete and curves to create a somewhat solitary experience. Though it was often that kwc was just a few feet away from me, the circular corridors could obscure him from my view completely.
Built in 1989, Collezione uses one of Ando's favorite primary materials: concrete. There is none of the natural elements that is typically associated with Ando's work in this building. Having Collezione and Omotesando Hills so close to each other also gave me insight on how 15 years of change had influence on Ando and the area. Omotesando Hills was built in 2005, replacing an apartment complex, and uses water, light and stone to create a much more naturally accented area. In the Collezione, the lighting is recessed, and while some areas are open, some corridors give the feel of a modern man-made concrete tunnel. Where Omotesando Hills feels very open, Collezione feels very confined and closed.
We shot at night, which only seemed to add to the isolation of the building; retail shops while lit, were closed, and the employees of the offices of the upper floors had long left the building.
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