Sou Fujimoto an architect from Japan is famous for his revolutionary and breathtaking designs. His ability and design philosophies are astonishing. His collaboration of architectural spaces with the human body is remarkable. The Japanese-born architect on August 4, 1971, completed his education at the University of Tokyo. Soon after that, he established his firm by the name Sou Fujimoto Architects in Tokyo. Since childhood, Sou Fujimoto had a preference for nature and the environment.
Modernistic design blended with traditional aura is his specialty. More known for his poetic attribute Sou Fujimoto always challenges limits in modern design style.
His design speaks well between scale and proportion. He knows how to blend nature with the building. Because Sou Fujimoto has spent most of his childhood living on the Island. His designed spaces are flexible to behave with natural airflow.
Design Philosophy
Feather Touch design, Sou Fujimoto imagines architecture between arising and weightlessly. Opacity, confinement, formalism, transparency is the style offered by him. Natural elements include leaves and branches blending of both personas. This is how Sou Fujimoto brings places and human-scale design attributes. Japanese architects are famous for developing nature and spaces. Hence Sou Fujimoto never disappoints to deliver phenomenal spaces. The balance between public and private spaces is perfectly balanced. Innumerable values of transition internal spaces are contrasting.
The synthetic product of nature and architecture. A man-made sense of order is depicted clearly. Sou Fujimoto designs spaces that respond to nature. Cloud-like and formal in its composition. Interconnection between internal and external spaces is something that creates a heavenly design. And heavenly designs are only seen through Sou Fujimoto’s perspective.
Design Fundamentals Applied by Sou Fujimoto
Surrealism
Sou Fujimoto deals with design with the subconscious presence of outer spaces and internal. The essence of the ideology is it is destructive but it arises from created things. Surrealism is astonishing and thought-provoking. It challenges your vision and limitations. Sou Fujimoto follows rationalistic and rigid philosophies.
Repetition
A rhythm is always observed in Sou Fujimoto’s designs and structure. The rhythm of repetition. One thing is always repeated in his projects. Such as vertical or horizontal lines or colour patterns are being repeated. A perfect analogy of internal and external connection. Internal spaces are highly connected to the external spaces.
Inside Out
When a person visits structures or spaces designed by Sou Fujimoto they always feel as if they are connected to nature. A connection to the environment is a Sou Fujimoto specialty. He has an eye for the best natural attribute. The outside world is brought inside and the inside world is connected to the outer. Spaces are emphasized with climbing trees and landscapes.
Simplicity
A key consideration of the outer world and user experience. Simplicity is an element that brings higher value in its minimal style, Sou Fujimoto allows his design and spaces to be minimal and simple. Because it brings a new definition to the entire space. Maintaining a surreal and sophisticated connection.
Sou Fujimoto’s Style: Conventional Architecture
Sou Fujimoto introduced conventional architecture through his style. In other words, Sou’s design and spaces have conventional architectural characteristics. In this type of style, functionalism is given priority. Functionalism can be seen in terms of internal planning or spaces. A balance between nature and architecture, interiority and exteriority. Subtleness between architecture and urbanism, private and public spaces. Sou Fujimoto also blends streets and houses hierarchy into his spaces.
A mixture of two is the prime concept of Sou Fujimoto. He blends two contrast things. Elements and spaces are perfectly blended. Sou Fujimoto has specific colour schemes in his design. White to the black colour scheme which volumes between one and zero. Systemized with external attributes and internal spaces. The colour scheme ranges from zero to one. Conventional architecture is perfectly seen in Sou Fujimoto. Transparency and opacity are seen in the design spaces. Japanese architects are primal in delivering this.
Here are some famous projects by Sou Fujimoto:
1. Garden in a Box Shenzhen’s New Exhibition by Sou Fujimoto
A magnificent large-scale exhibition complex by Sou Fujimoto is a remarkable design. Located in the Futian District this exhibition hall adopts characteristics of contemporary design style. A total 90,000 sqm project is the urban core of Shenzhen. It was the winning design proposal of an international competition in Futian.
The main attribute behind this project is to display and publicize the achievement of reform and opening-up. It will be an institution that collects evidence and research. The opacity and transparency are perfectly seen in this Exhibition hall.
Garden in a box as the name suggests offers openness and transparency. It helps translate reform and opening up of the internal spaces. A sense of Conventional architecture is being observed in this design. This garden box has a large void internally which is covered by a shading perforated pergola. Semi-enclosed spaces offer numerous trees and seating spaces. Pale white and synchronized colour schemes like the blend of white welcome and reflect a monochromatic scheme of colour variant. Internally spaces are connected by bridges and staircases. Curvilinear passages bring linearity inside the spaces.
2. House of Hungarian Music by Sou Fujimoto
Yet another resilient project by Sou Fujimoto is located in Budapest’s City Park. This entire structure is designed with a distinctive roof and construction work is going on. Magnificent interior and exclusive music hall is something which will catch your attention. Horizontally placed glass volumes create massive internal features. Perforated roofs welcome natural light to penetrate all levels of the building.
Sou Fujimoto is known for bringing the natural environment into the building. The spiral staircase connecting two overground levels. The House of Hungarian Music uses renewable energy sources.
It includes house classrooms, a library, office spaces, performance venues, administrative spaces. Large concert halls, exhibition spaces are given. This entire structure has 100 holes with different hierarchies. Allows trees and creepers to lightweight internal spaces and bring serene beauty. Harmonious internal spaces will smooth out visitors’ minds. Just like a meditation center.
Sou Fujimoto is master in achieving explicit environmental spaces. Visitors can never encounter spaces as normal; they will only feel as if they are inside an Amazon serene jungle. A perfect blend of nature and human scale. Sou Fujimoto offers a touch between imagination and reality.
Awards and Recognition
Sou Fujimoto received the JIA New Face Award in 2004. Along with this, he grabbed the first prize in the International Design Competition for the Environmental Art Forum. The wallpaper Prize for Architecture is named after Sou Fujimoto. He also received the Japanese Institute of Architecture Grand Prize in 2008. Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Design Awards is allotted to Sou Fujimoto Firm.
One of the famous structures, Garden in the Box, is also the winning entry of an international competition. Sou Fujimoto also received the Architectural Review Award Grand Prize in 2006. The popularity of Sou Fujimoto is beyond Japan.
References:
Sou Fujimoto’s House of Hungarian Music Nears Completion | ArchDaily
Sou Fujimoto’s House of Hungarian Music nears completion – Gey.qo (geyqo.com)
Sou Fujimoto Architects Design “Garden in a Box” as Shenzhen’s New Exhibition Hall | ArchDaily
Sou Fujimoto Architects Design “Garden in a Box” as Shenzhen’s New Exhibition Hall – Terrades Delmoli
Sou Fujimoto Architect | Biography, Buildings, Projects and Facts (famous-architects.org)
Sou Fujimoto | Japanese architect | Britannica
