How Kanye West “remixed” Tadao Ando’s architectural gem

Three years ago, the award-winning rapper, producer, fashion mogul and entrepreneur formerly known as Kanye West – who has become a very controversial figure in recent years due to his political statements – bought for a modest sum of 57.3 million dollars (about 53). million euros) house by Tadao Ando on the edge of the ocean in Malibu. The apartment is now nothing more than an empty shell, stripped of all the distinctive elements usually found in a house – goodbye doors, windows, bathroom, plumbing and electrical circuits.

The house is currently on the market for $39 million — at a reduced price, that is — just four months after Kanye (who now goes by Ye) put it up for sale for $53 million earlier this year. This house is considered a “classic” by Tadao Ando. Ron Radziner, the Los Angeles architect who has worked with the legendary Pritzker winner on several projects in the United States, recently said that the Japanese star architect “really likes him.” So why is Kanye West selling this architectural gem? How did the building get to this state of total nakedness?

We may never have all the answers, but a thorough investigation New Yorker enlighten us a little. According to the article, the rapper planned “remix” home, to use the words of the writer Ian Parker. Kulapat Yantrasast, an architect who worked in Tadao Ando’s company and with Kanye for a while, told the New Yorker : “ I really admire what Ye tried to do (with the house)” using it “as a basis for building an own architectural language. »

According to New YorkerKanye’s architectural language is strongly influenced by the masters of minimalism, including Tadao Ando himself, and the artist James Turrell, best known for his sky spaces, these august shelters designed with a certain frugality, with ceilings open to the sky. All over the world, from Japan to Mexico, Sky spaces in Turrell generally lacks common household amenities, such as washrooms and heating, ventilation and air conditioning: “We will all (one day) live in Turrell spaces”, Kanye also tweeted.

Key word: count

Trying to create his own minimalism, Kanye reportedly told the contractor who took on the house that he didn’t want a kitchen, bathroom, air conditioning, windows, lighting or heating. He would repeatedly call for clarity and simplicity. “He wanted everything to exist for himself,” confirms Tony Saxon, who worked on Kanye’s Malibu home. “Simple fresh and clear”, Kanye would have given him instructions, completely fresh and clean in other words.

Convert stairs into a slide

Also according to the article, Kanye used large blocks of foam to transform a wide interior staircase into a slide. Tony Saxon was not involved in installing the foam on the steps, but he told the New Yorker that he was asked to help remove it.

Full painting

Tony Saxon was also reportedly commissioned to paint shelves, cabinets, closets, and the black and white marble in the bathroom, with the goal of giving the house a consistent color palette. Kanye’s current wife, Bianca Censori, who earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Melbourne in 2020, told the entrepreneur that Kanye didn’t want to. “not that the wood is visible”. After testing the paint on some of the wood, Kanye reportedly asked the contractor to remove all the wood and marble from the house. He also removed two metal fireplaces, the glass railings, all the windows and doors, and the heating and plumbing.

Kanye’s architectural aspirations

There is no doubt that Kanye, who has an accomplished career as a musician and fashion designer, decided to establish himself as an architect. He has been interested in this field for a long time; he briefly attended the Chicago Academy of Art and Chicago State University before devoting himself to music. According to the article in New Yorkerhis flirtation with architecture began in childhood, when he would go to the local Barnes & Noble to read copies ofA.D. He was even invited to the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2013 to talk about his relationship with this discipline. And although opinions about its design are sometimes mixed, the Hidden Hills home that the rapper shared with Kim Kardashian – a clean, minimal apartment – can certainly be considered a success. (For this project, the couple benefited from the help of Axel Vervoordt, Claudio Silvestrin and Vincent Van Duysen, as well as other collaborators.)