Tadao Ando was born in Osaka, Japan on September 13, 1941. His career started off as a professional boxer, but he found his interest in architecture as he worked part time for a design firm. He is a self-educated architect who learned and found his own style of architecture by travelling, mostly in Europe, Africa, and the United States. He is unique in the sense that he has never received any professional training in the field, yet has worked himself up to the likes of Louis Kahn and Le Corbusier. He founded his office in 1969, and is currently Japan’s most recognized and respected architect.