Azuma House in Sumiyoshi, also known as Row House, was one of the first works of self-taught architect, Tadao Ando. He divided in three a space devoted to daily life, composed of an austere geometry, with the insertion of an abstract space dedicated to the play of wind and light. His objective, he says, was to challenge the inertia that has invaded our everyday lives.

Ando, who sees himself as a fighter-architect, developed a series of brave proposals for small houses. Among them, Azuma House in Sumiyoshi is his proudest achievement: a fortress from an architect who developed his skills through repeated ‘combat tests’. It’s also a house in which the distinguishing features of his later works are already evident. For it, he received an award from the Japanese Association of Architecture in 1976.