Summary of "Architecture on Stage: Sou Fujimoto"

Summary of “Architecture on Stage: Sou Fujimoto”

Sou Fujimoto’s lecture at the Barbican explores his architectural philosophy, creative processes, and key projects, emphasizing the fluid relationship between architecture, nature, and urban environments. His work often questions traditional boundaries—between inside and outside, private and public, architecture and landscape—drawing inspiration from his upbringing in natural Hokkaido and the dense, layered urban fabric of Tokyo.

Key Artistic Techniques, Concepts, and Creative Processes

Blurring Boundaries Fujimoto frequently explores dissolving strict boundaries between inside/outside and private/public spaces. This approach is influenced by traditional Japanese architecture’s layering (e.g., sliding paper doors) and Tokyo’s intimate urban fabric with its small pathways and mixed-use spaces.
Fragmented and Layered Spaces His early conceptual work proposed a “house” fragmented across a city, where different functions (dining, bathing, working) are spatially distributed and connected by walking through the city. This challenges the notion of a house as a single, enclosed object.
Multiple Layers and Gradations Inspired by Japanese culture (e.g., tatami floors, removing shoes), Fujimoto designs spaces with multiple levels and translucent layers that create gradations of privacy and openness, allowing flexible use and interaction.
Small Scale and Detailed Materiality Attention to scale and material detail is critical, such as using very thin structural elements (e.g., 6 cm columns) to maintain a sense of lightness and delicacy, while balancing heavy traditional elements (like thick timber window frames) with minimal structural supports.
Integration with Urban Context His residential projects translate the dense, fragmented, and layered urban experience of Tokyo into architectural form, creating “floating” spaces that resemble the city’s dynamic layering of public and private life.
Transparency, Translucency, and Opacity Fujimoto experiments with surfaces that change visually depending on the viewer’s position, creating dynamic perceptions of space that shift between openness and enclosure.
Flexible, Non-Programmatic Spaces Clients are encouraged to use spaces flexibly rather than strictly defined rooms, allowing for diverse and changing uses, reflecting a more fluid lifestyle.
Nature and Architecture Integration Projects like the Serpentine Pavilion and “1000 Trees” in Paris emphasize merging architecture with landscape and nature, blurring distinctions between built form and environment.
Spatial Experiences Beyond Physical Boundaries Fujimoto aims to create architecture that transcends physical limits, evoking feelings of vastness or intimacy regardless of actual size, often through layering, transparency, and spatial complexity.

Summary of Notable Projects and Concepts

Early Conceptual Works (circa 1997)
- City-wide fragmented house concept: functions scattered in small spaces across a neighborhood, connected by walking.
- Questioning boundaries: translucent layered “skins” replace solid walls, creating gradations of privacy.
- Primitive Future House: inspired by Japanese traditional floor culture, multi-level flexible spaces without fixed functions.
Small Tokyo House
- Built on a very small plot (~6x9m), divided into many small plates or platforms with varying heights and sizes.
- Spaces are fragmented but continuous vertically and horizontally, allowing occupants to choose diverse spots for different activities.
- Inspired by Tokyo’s urban fabric and lifestyle, the house balances openness and privacy with carefully designed transparency and structure.
Serpentine Pavilion
- Temporary pavilion blurring boundaries between furniture, architecture, and landscape.
- Features dynamic translucency and openness, creating cozy isolated spaces within a public setting.
- Explores fundamental architectural questions about space, scale, and human interaction.
Three-Box House
- Consists of three nested concrete boxes with varying degrees of openness and enclosure.
- The layering allows gradations of inside/outside and privacy, inspired by traditional Japanese houses but reinterpreted for contemporary life.
Minimal Public Toilet in Countryside Japan
- A small glass box enclosed by black walls that block views but allow air and light, balancing publicness and privacy.
- Demonstrates intelligent architectural solutions to contradictory programmatic needs.
Art University Library in Tokyo
- Large spiral bookshelf system creating layered spaces with many openings, evoking a forest of books.
- Combines functionality with an experiential labyrinth-like environment encouraging exploration and imagination.
Ecole Polytechnique Interior, Paris
- Competition project featuring multiple floating platforms and staircases to encourage accidental encounters and dynamic learning interactions.
- Spatial layering inspired by earlier residential concepts but scaled up for educational use.
Housing Project in South of France
- Large apartment complex with oversized balconies wrapping the volumes, creating outdoor living spaces suited to the warm climate.
- Balances local lifestyle and climate with Fujimoto’s architectural language of fragmentation and layering.
1000 Trees Project, Paris
- Large mixed-use development with a “floating forest” on rooftops, integrating nature with urban life.
- Challenges Paris’s height restrictions and traditional urban form by adding green, elevated villages.
- Aims to create a new kind of monument made of nature, harmonizing with Paris’s historic cityscape.

Advice and Reflections

Embrace Local Contexts Fujimoto stresses understanding and respecting local culture, climate, and urban conditions as a basis for innovation.
Value Flexibility and Gradations Spaces should allow for varied human behaviors and social interactions, with blurred boundaries enhancing life’s richness.
Experimentation and Persistence Early years spent on conceptual projects without commissions helped form his fundamental architectural thinking through trial and error.
Architecture as a Continuum Architecture should not be isolated objects but part of a continuum with nature, urban fabric, and human life.
Balance Between Protection and Openness Successful architecture creates a balance between feeling protected and connected to surroundings.

Contributors Featured

Sou Fujimoto – Architect and lecturer, main presenter of the lecture.
References to other Japanese architects: Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa), Fumihiko Maki, Shinohara, Tange.
Influences include Moriyama House and Japanese traditional architecture.
Brief mention of Rem Koolhaas and 3XN as competitors in the “1000 Trees” project competition.

This lecture provides deep insight into Sou Fujimoto’s architectural philosophy centered on fluid boundaries, layered spaces, and the integration of architecture with urban life and nature, illustrated through both conceptual ideas and built projects across different cultural contexts.