Sou Fujimoto

Sou Fujimoto (1971-) is one of the most celebrated Japanese architects of his generation. Inspired by natural environments such as forests and caves, the object of long explorations in his youth on the wild island of Hokkaido, Fujimoto's architecture constantly questions the traditional division between internal and external spaces through ingenious and daring construction solutions. The color white rigorously dominates his projects, a solution that has been typical of Japanese architecture for several years introduced by Kazuyo Sejima, of whom Fujimoto is considered by many critics to be a true ideal heir. His works are wonderful examples of radical experiments such as House N in Oita (2009), in which traditional windows are replaced by large rectangular openings towards the outside, or the even more astonishing House NA in Tokyo (2010), without walls, or the Arbre Blanc residential tower in Montpellier (2019) with large balconies, in which he collaborates with some French architects who integrate his conceptual purism with a fresh Mediterranean touch. In 2013, he was the youngest architect to be awarded the annual design for the Serpentine Gallery’s summer pavilion in London, which he interpreted as a “cloud” composed of thin, intertwined steel bars. Although not very active in product design, Fujimoto did, however, star in a special collaboration with the Italian brand Alias in 2017.