Sou Fujimoto: Between Nature and Architecture

Recorded: April 15, 2014
Sou Fujimoto established his Tokyo-based firm in 2000. His practice seeks to challenge the definition of architecture by blending interior and exterior, structure and furniture, natural landscape and architecture. Based primarily in his home country of Japan, Fujimoto draws architectural inspiration from nature and embraces openness, flexibility, and transparency across his work.
In this Current Work lecture, titled “Between Nature and Architecture,” Fujimoto presents three conceptual early works and six recent projects. The early unbuilt projects, conceived of following his graduation from the University of Tokyo in 1994, illustrate the formation of principles that have carried through to today, including abandonment of solid walls and the design of spaces without fixed function. Finding inspiration in the traditional Japanese engawa, a narrow veranda that serves as passageway between house and garden, Fujimoto translates these “ambiguous, in-between spaces” into his contemporary buildings.
The six completed and current projects he discusses are:
- The Serpentine Pavilion 2013 (London), a cloud-like temporary structure built for the Serpentine Gallery’s annual series
House NA (Tokyo), a small, transparent house composed of many individual floor plates at varied heights
- Toilet in Nature (Ichihara, Chiba, Japan), a public toilet situated in a landscaped garden
- House N (Oita, Japan), a private house built as a “box in a box in a box” with large openings to the outdoors
- Musashino Art University Library (Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan), entirely composed of bookshelves to create the impression of an endless library
- L’Arbre Blanc (Montpellier, France), a high-rise apartment building with large balconies of varied size and placement
These projects represent how Sou Fujimoto Architects translates uniform systems - such as a grid of steel tube, 3.5 by 1.5 meter floor plates, or repeating bookshelves - into structures that eliminate traditional divisions between indoor and outdoor and challenge perceptions of space and form.
The Current Work series invites significant international figures who powerfully influence contemporary architectural practice and shape the future of the built environment to present their work and ideas to a public audience.

[@mubarakibrahim-audu9373]

He showed us the real meaning of a "Public Toilet".........Amazing and very creative projects.

[@yankong7987]

Really enjoyed the whole talk. Architecture with Fujimoto becomes poetic and yet practical. It's this complementary ying-yang force that drives his archictecture, making it rich and powerful in space and sense... Hope to see more projects coming out his office... ;)

[@alcue6322]

really appreciate his (or his team's) great communication skills as well

[@chanchoyling4919]

Seemingly a simple starting point yet a beautiful creation is resulted

[@eliftarih6346]

love it

[@filoflin5345]

somehow during the years I have found out for myself that architects bring arguments out of their asses just because they suit what they have created.

[@canweng5546]

9

[@waim4019]

To fully understand what fujimoto is talking about, you first need to understand the concept of yugen

[@poortasteisforeverybody]

I feel like I'm on acid just watching this.

[@poortasteisforeverybody]

The way he breaks open assumptions and questions so many things we take as a given is so beautiful. I found him from stumbling on a picture of his "N House", and I'm so happy to be here.

[@alexwu5898]

不得不说，fujimoto这个逼还是有东西的，包括之前cave and nest的说辞，确实给了那些激进的设计一些逻辑

[@moatassemegbaria]

Architecture is in a lost state, it's very unfortunate where the world has come to. the peaple dose not need creative works, they need real Architecture that serves them, a responsible environmentally friendly, respects the climate of the place, and respect its surroundings and the history of the area.

[@sogdianaakhmetova9993]

not interesting speaker at all (((

[@zuam7645]

..... *any one finds wherever looks for it*