Nothingness Tadao Ando's Christian Sacred Space [Paperback]

Based around an interview with Tadao Ando, this book explores the influence of the Buddhist concept of nothingness on Andos Christian architecture, and sheds new light on the cultural significance of the buildings of one of the worlds leading contemporary architects.

Specifically, this book situates Andos churches, particularly his world-renowned Church of the Light (1989), within the legacy of nothingness expounded by Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945), the father of the Kyoto Philosophical School.

Linking Andos Christian architecture with a philosophy originating in Mahayana Buddhism illuminates the relationship between the two religious systems, as well as tying Andos architecture to the influence of Nishida on post-war Japanese art and culture.

Introduction  Part 1: Emptiness and Christianity  1. Emptiness within Christianity  2. Return to Emptiness Part 2: The School of Things (Mono-ha) and its Criticism of Modernity  3. The Emergence of the School of Things and Space Design  4. The School of Things and Anti-Semiotics  5. The School of Things and Nothingness  Part 3: Nothingness, Shintai and Christian Theology  6. Kitaro Nishida's Philosophy of Nothingness  7. Nothingness and Shintai  8. Nothingness and Christian Theology  Part 4: Emptiness and the Cross  8. Emptiness and the Demise of Symbols  9. The Cross between Romanticism and Barbarism  10. Emptiness Filled with Situational Appearance  11. Metaphysical Light and Phenomenological Light  12. Dark, Light and Gold Part 5: Emptiness, the Cross and Shintai  13. Shintai and Corporeality olS0