Sou Fujimoto
Born in Hokkaido in 1971, the Japanese architect made his first appearance on the world stage in 2005 with the Final Wooden House, an inhabitable cube made of thick wooden beams. Many of his later projects also oscillate between sculpture and architecture, like the Serpentine Pavilion in London in 2013 with its open latticework and the L’Arbre Blanc residential high-rise in Montpellier with its protruding balconies. Fujimoto founded his architecture practice in Tokyo in 2000, adding a Paris branch in 2017. He designed the masterplan for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. His Shiroiya Hotel in Maebashi combines a cleverly refurbished existing building with a new build beneath a green hill.
© David Vintiner
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Undulating rooftop landscape
Sky Mountain in Haikou by Sou Fujimoto
The south Chinese city of Haikou wishes to enhance its shoreline with 16 new buildings by noted architects. Sou Fujimoto's ring-shaped pavilion with its undulating roof is the second such project to be completed.
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Soundscapes under a leafy canopy
House of Music by Sou Fujimoto in Budapest
Sou Fujimoto has erected a transparent house for music in Budapest’s Liget Park, thus creating the preliminary highlight in a disputed cultural megaproject.
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To slumber in a green hill
Shiroiya Hotel in Maebashi by Sou Fujimoto
Das Shiroiya Hotel lässt seinen Gästen die Wahl, ob sie in einem spektakulär entkernten Nachkriegsbau oder unter der Grasnarbe eines künstlichen Hügels nächtigen wollen.
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The Tallinn Architecture Biennale: Why Architecture Should be Beautiful
With participants such as Sou Fujimoto and Graham Harman, this year’s architecture biennale in Tallinn gets to the root of our experience of the beautiful.
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A Matter of Beauty: Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2019
From 11 September until 17 November, the Tallinn Architecture Biennale will open its doors in keeping with this year’s motto: Beauty Matters.
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L’Arbre Blanc by Sou Fujimoto Architects, Nicolas Laisné, Dimitri Roussel and OXO Architectes
The balconies of 'L'Arbre Blanc' sprout like leaves from a tree-like residential tower designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects, Nicolas Laisné, Dimitri Roussel and OXO Architectes.
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Interactive Art: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto
This year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto is different in many ways.