Botond Bognar, The New Japanese Architecture (Rizzoli, 1990), p. 124.

"Contemporary architecture is under the sway of economic rationalism. Everything is determined by cost, and there is no room for human consideration. Is it impossible for architecture to exist today other than as a commercial product? Things are treated as consumer goods; they are manufactured and disappear. It is as if the human act of making or using were something to be despised or ashamed of.

I have always used natural materials in those parts of a building that come into contact with the human hand or foot because I am convinced that substances such as wood and concrete are invaluable materials for architecture and that one becomes aware of the true quality of architecture through the body.

I made as few openings as possible in the building, because the light becomes brilliant only against a very dark background. The only natural element here is the sunlight, which is introduced to the interior in a way which renders nature extremely abstract. The architecture, adapting to this light, becomes purified. The light forms a pattern on the floor. In the shifting cross of light, one may I come to recognise, in a fundamental way, the relationship of humanity to nature."

Tadao Ando

4-3-50, Kita-kasugaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.

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"This church is located in a quiet residential district in Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture. A chapel and the minister's house, both of wood construction, existed on the site, and the church was planned as an addition; it was sited on the basis of its relationship to the earlier buildings and its solar orientation."

The main Chapel faces the East which was no doubt done on purpose by Ando. The crucifix cut-out in the concrete wall acts as a stencil for the morning Sun to shine through and produce a glorious spectacle of light in the form of a cross.

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"It is a cube in which three spheres, each with a diameter of 5.9 meters, could be inscribed; its interior is penetrated by a wall angled at 15°. This diagonal wall is 18 centimeters lower than the building proper and divides the space into a chapel and an entrance area. From the entrance, one passes through an opening made in the diagonal wall, and turns 180° to arrive at the church. The floor descends in stages toward the altar. A cruciform has been cut out of the wall behind the altar, and the morning sun entering through it creates a cross of light."

Ando is known for his fair-faced in-situ concrete in most of his buildings. Four concrete walls make up the main structure of the Church with glass windows and slider doors on the southern face of the building. The dark nature of the concrete allows the light-cruciform to be brilliantly displayed every morning from a rising Eastern Sun.

Other than the significance that the explicitly placed light-cruciform has on believers, I hypothesise Ando incorporates a more subtle message in the entrance way to the main chapel. The concrete wall at a 15° that pierces the entrance for the chapel sets up a sense of mystery for the person about to enter. The interior cannot be seen until the person turns 180° from an opening into the piercing wall - they are introduced into a space with the light-cruciform at the end. But even more clever, is the idea of doing a 180° turn: people turning away from their sin and following God.

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The Crucifix is a significant symbol in the Christian faith - it demonstrates God's unconditional love towards humanity. Light also holds major significance as a symbol of good and purity. These two concepts are paired together in the light-cruciform created by the cut-out in the Eastern wall.

During sunrise, sunlight comes into the chapel via the cruciform and its shape momentarily appears on the ground. This is done rather intentionally as Sunday worship services start at 10:30AM - just as sunlight is shining through the cruciform. The light appears brilliantly against the darkness of the conrete and of the space itself. Ando intentionally tried to make the space as enclosed as possible so that the light from the cruciform would be exaggerated.

Limited natural lighting is gained through the window that is created from the concrete wall that pierces the chapel at 15°. However, the amount of lighting that enters via this window is not too excessive as a tall concrete wall blocks most of the Sun out.