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| | Tadao Ando - Award Ceremony |
 | | Architecture has always been a classic art in the sense of a universal art and, because of this tradition of universalism in France, it is the major French art. |
 | | Then, that architectural theoretician of ancient Rome, Vitruvius, proposed three indispensable principles of architectureutilitas, venustas, firmitas: utilitas is function (commodity) and firmitas is strength (firmness), both are measures of architectonic potential, while venustas (delight or beauty) resides in the dimension of imagination. |
 | | In other words, architectural space becomes alive only in correspondence with the human presence that perceives it in our contemporary culture, where all of us are subjected to intense exterior stimulation, especially by the electronic environment, the role of architectural space as a spiritual shelter is crucial. |
| www.pritzkerprize.com /andocere.htm (4628 words) |
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