Born in 1941 in Osaka, Japan. Self-educated in architecture. Established Tadao Ando Architect& Associates in 1969. In 2021 he has served a Domus guest editor.
Notable works include the Row House in Sumiyoshi (Osaka, 1976), Church of the Light (Osaka, 1989), Awaji Yumebutai (Hyogo, 1999), Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts (St. Louis, 2001), Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (Fort Worth, 2002), Chichu Art Museum (Naoshima, 2004), Punta della Dogana (Venice, 2009), and Shanghai Poly Grand Theater (Shanghai, 2014).
Has received numerous awards and honors, including the Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan for Design (1979) for the Row House in Sumiyoshi, Japan Art Academy Prize (1993), Pritzker Architecture Prize (1995), American Institute of Architects Gold Medal (2002), Union Internationale des Architectes Gold Medal (2005), Japanese Order of Culture (2010), Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2013), and Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (2015). 
Has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (New York, 1991) and Centre Pompidou (Paris, 1993). Has taught at Yale University, Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Tokyo and currently is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo.