The Architecture of Sou Fujimoto: Primordial Future Forest

With offices in Tokyo, Paris, and Shenzhen, Sou Fujimoto (born 1971 in Hokkaido, Japan) is engaged in projects all over the world, ranging from private homes to universities, retail premises, hotels, and multi-purpose complexes. Since his high-profile debut with a Aomori Museum of Art design competition proposal in 2000, he has completed a series of celebrated projects, including the Musashino Art University Museum & Library (2010, Tokyo) and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 (London), and recently the housing complex L’Arbre Blanc (The White Tree, 2019, Montpellier, France) and the music-focused cultural complex House of Music, Hungary (2021, Budapest). One of Japan’s leading architects at the center of public attention, he is currently serving as the design producer for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

This exhibition is the first major survey of Fujimoto’s work. It provides a comprehensive overview, covering everything from work in his early years to projects currently underway, and following his architectural journey over the past quarter century, the features of his architecture, and the philosophy behind it. It takes advantage of the venue’s expertise as a contemporary art museum, allowing anyone, not just people working in the field of architecture, to physically experience the essence of Fujimoto’s oeuvre by including exhibits such as installations and large-scale models that provide a spatial experience, as well as prototypes. These complement conventional exhibits like scale models, plans, and photos of completed projects. The exhibition also reviews the role and potential of architecture through Fujimoto’s vision of the future city.

Architecture and cities today are being called on to play a bigger role than before when it comes to issues such as the ecology and environment, continually changing human relationships, the need to bring together divided communities, and how our lives are affected by technological developments. We welcome visitors to join us as we take Fujimoto’s practice as the context for considering how architecture could change our lives in times like these.