Japanese architect Tadao Ando designed Tongji Centennial Building

      After Koolhaas designed the CCTV Tower and Herzog designed the Bird's Nest Stadium for the Beijing Olympic Games, Japanese architect Tadao Ando will also try his hand in China. < BR > < BR > Tadao Ando, together with Koolhaas of the Netherlands and Herzog of Switzerland, is known as "the most important architect from the 20th century to the 21st century.". It seems that these three top architectural designers in the world will leave their hands in China. < BR > < BR > The reporter learned from the "Environment and Architecture -- Tadao Ando's Personal Architecture Exhibition" being held at the Shanghai Art Museum that as an honorary professor of Tongji University in Shanghai, Tadao Ando was recently invited to design the "Shanghai International Design Center" for Tongji University as its centennial celebration building. It is reported that this will be the first super high-rise office building designed by himself and his first work in China. < BR > < BR > Tadao Ando Architecture Firm introduced that the building was built by Shanghai Tongji University and Yangpu District Government with a joint investment of 150 million yuan. The building is 100 meters high, symbolizing Tongji's "centennial". The Shanghai International Design Center is scheduled to start construction next year and will be completed in May 2007 to celebrate the anniversary of Tongji University. < BR > < BR > The reporter first saw the model of the "Shanghai International Design Center" at the architectural exhibition: The exterior walls are all made of glass and are in a geometric structure, like a combination of several cubes. But this powerful building is surprisingly topped with an ultra-thin roof, which is a master's stroke. < BR > < BR > Tadao Ando, who has never received any formal education in architectural design, is regarded as a genius and has won all the top architectural awards in the world. Since the 1980s, Tadao Ando's architectural works have repeatedly shocked the world, known as "the poet of concrete", "the master of light and shadow" and so on. His representative works include "the collective residence of Liujia", "Awaji Dream Stage", "Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art" and so on. < BR > < BR > Ma Weidong, the curator of Tadao Ando's personal architecture exhibition, points out that Tadao Ando attaches great importance to the improvement of the environmental quality of architecture. Some of his designs, such as the "Mediterranean Art Museum," took more than 10 years to complete. Because of this, Tadao Ando's work in Shanghai is simple and inexpensive, which is not similar to the expensive and futuristic works of two other top designers. < BR > < BR > "Tadao Ando Individual Exhibition", jointly organized by Shanghai Art Museum, Tadao Ando Architectural Design Firm and Wenzhu International, will last until February 6, 2006. It is reported that during this period, Tadao Ando will also visit Shanghai and give a speech entitled "The Possibility of Architecture" at the Shanghai Film City.