Sou Fujimoto
Sou Fujimoto is a Japanese architect.
Early life and education
Born in Hokkaido in 1971, he graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1994, and established his own office, Sou Fujimoto Architects, in 2000. File:Oyane-ring southeast.jpg|thumb|The Grand Ring, Osaka Expo 2025Career
After establishing Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000, Fujimoto went on to design buildings across Japan and Europe. Many of his designs are built around his idea that the function of a building is decided by human behavior. In 2019, Fujimoto was selected as one of 23 architects to "reinvent" Paris. His contributions to this project include a redesign of a plot in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.He will chair the Holcim Foundation Awards 2025 jury for region Asia Pacific.Noted for delicate light structures and permeable enclosures, Fujimoto designed several houses, and in 2013, was selected to design the temporary Serpentine Gallery pavilion in London. In 2021, Fujimoto received the master's degree from l’École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris.
Fujimoto published a book in 2008 called Sou Fujimoto: Primitive Future. It contains an overview of his projects up to that date, and it explains his concept of primitive future and how he uses it in his work.
Selected works
- Final Wooden House, Kumamoto, 2005–08
- Children's Centre for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Hokkaido, Japan, 2006
- T House, Gunma, Japan, 2006–2010
- N House, Oita, 2008
- House before House, Utsunomiya, 2009
- Tokyo Apartment, Tabashi-ku, Tokyo, 2006–10
- Musashino Art University Museum and Library, Tokyo, Japan, 2010
- Toilet in Nature, Chiba, Japan, 2012
- House K, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan, 2011–2013
- Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, 2013
- Bus Stop in Krumbach, Austria, 2014
- Cloud Pavilion, outside National Art Gallery, Tiranë, Albania, 2016
- Naoshima Pavilion, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan, 2016
- L'Arbre Blanc, Montpellier, France, 2017
- House of Hungarian Music, Budapest, Hungary, 2022
- Mille Arbres, Paris, France, 2016–2023
- Grand Ring, Osaka, Japan.
Awards
- JIA New Face Award, 2004
- International Design Competition for the Environment Art Forum, 1st Prize, 2004
- Wooden House Competition, Kumamoto, 1st Prize, 2005
- Architectural Review Award Grand Prize, 2006
- Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Design Award, 2007
- Japanese Institute of Architecture Grand Prize, 2008
- Wallpaper Design Award, 2009
- Taiwan Tower International Competition: First Prize, 2011
- Marcus Prize for Architecture, 2013
- Kyoto Global Design Awards Best100, 2023