Apple- and concrete-inspired watches by tadao ando and cauny
Tadao Ando has designed watches for Cauny, inspired by green apples and the concept of youth underlined in Samuel Ullman’s poem. There are two models for the series. One is in apple green, while the other is in silver, drawn from the concrete architecture that the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize awardee is known for. The Tadao Ando apple-inspired watches both have Italian leather straps. They also have a sapphire glass with AR coating for the dial’s top. For both of Tadao Ando’s apple watches, there are no visible time markers: no hours, no minutes.
One of the timepiece hands resembles the shape of a leaf, a homage to the fruit it refers to. The dials are also clear of any designs. Like the architect’s masterworks, they show the materiality. For the Ando Green, it’s the neon color of the fruit. For the Ando Grey, it’s the gritty and glossy marks of the steel lines, naturally generated during production. Cauny’s Ando collection is the fourth in the Architects of Time series, where the brand collaborates with revered architects to design watches, including Rafael Moneo and Eduardo Souto Moura.
portrait of Tadao Ando | all images courtesy of Cauny
Drawn from the poem of Samuel Ullman
Even before the apple-inspired watch for Cauny, Tadao Ando has viewed the fruit as a design inspiration. He sees it as a visual metaphor for the youth. He has already created a giant green apple sculpture, which has also been to the Museum SAN in Wonju, Gangwon Province, Korea. The architect quotes Samuel Ullman’s poem Youth: it is not a stage of life, but a movement of the heart.
He brought it to his collaboration with the watch brand, a testament to how he lives his life, resulting in a series of apple- and concrete-inspired watches. For Ando Grey, the concept of youth still continues. Concrete lasts, and the design of the Cauny watches exudes it. The brushed steel of the dial and the watch hands displays its fine lines, a hint at the concrete works of the architect. The material can stand the test of time, the narrative Cauny and Tadao Ando aim to bring to the apple- and concrete-inspired watches.
Ando Green by Cauny
rear view of Ando Green
green apples inspire the design of the Tadao Ando watch for Cauny
the design teams use the shade of the fruit for the timepiece
the hour marker resembles the shape of a leaf
the dial is also clear of any designs
view of Ando Grey
the Ando Grey is a homage to the architect’s concrete works
the architect’s signature appears on the rear of the timepiece
closer view of the dial with brushed steel
project info:
name: Ando Green and Ando Grey
architect: Tadao Ando | @tadao.ando
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