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floors is at once peaceful and awe-in-
spiring." It also expresses an honesty
that, while pure, has a kind of sus-
pended beauty—it hits hard, but not
all at once, and more gracefully than
one might imagine from its material-
ity: brick from the existing building,
granite floors, aluminum window
frames. Wood-beamed ceilings warm
the space, which is a showcase for An-
do's floating stairs, smooth concrete
forms and poetic use of natural light.
at Wrightwood 659 exudes a beau-
tiful simplicity results from what is in
reality a complex architectural calcu-
lus. e structure's historic edifice was
preserved to blend with the local vicin-
ity, and the entire interior was gutted
and rebuilt to create a canvas of 30,115
square feet and four stories. And yet
in this monumentality is an intimate,
quiet feeling, the haiku effect often
prescribed to Ando.
Wrightwood 659 is not an Ando
anomaly; he is known for his successful
conversions of existing architecture,
like the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy.
"When Ando encounters an existing
building, he designs around it or with-
in it, but never takes away from the
original," says Cavanaugh. "He once
explained that, 'You should respect old
people, you should respect old build-
ings.'" While Wrightwood 659 is set
inside an older building, it is a bridge
into a future world.
wrightwood659.org
THE INTERIOR OF AN OLD
APARTMENT BUILDING,
WRIGHTWOOD 659
WAS REIMAGINED BY
JAPANESE ARCHITECT
TADEO ANDO, WHO
APPROACHED THE
PROJECT WITH
MINIMALIST PRINCIPLES
TO CREATE AN
OPEN, EXPANSIVE
ENVIRONMENT THAT
ALLOWS FOR THE
CONTEMPLATION OF
ARTWORK. ANDO'S
SIGNATURE USE OF
CONCRETE MIXED WITH
BRICK AND WARM WOOD
ADD TEXTURE AND
RICHNESS TO THE SPACE
WITH THE NATURAL
WORLD JUST BEYOND.
