September 13 is Tadao Ando's birthday. The quotation is from a May 2022 interview.
建物も建てたら終わりではなくて、育てていかなくてはなりません。
Tatemono mo tatetara owari de wa nakute, sodatete ikanakute wa narimasen.
Buildings aren't finished when built; we have to keep nurturing them.
Tadao Andō · 安藤忠雄 (Andō Tadao)
Japanese architect
Asked about donating and encouraging others to give, Andō discussed supporting children’s libraries and planting trees. In this May 2022 interview, he explained that buildings, like trees and children, need continuing care after they are created.
Why this date: September 13 is Andō’s birthday (born in 1941). We chose this reflection on care as a way to celebrate an architect’s work beyond the moment a building opens.
Language note: 育てる (そだてる / sodateru) means to raise or nurture. Applied to a building, it suggests ongoing care. ～ていく (-te iku) carries an action into the future; ～なくてはなりません (-nakute wa narimasen) expresses necessity: “have to.”
A place continues to take shape through the care it receives.
DJW practice example:
この場所を、みんなで育てていこう。
Kono basho o, minna de sodatete ikō.
Let's keep nurturing this place together.
The Japanese excerpt follows the published source. The English translation and practice example are DJW editorial work.
Sources:
Birthday Donation — Tadao Ando original interview: https://www.birthday-donation.jp/column/c009/