Sou Fujimoto’s first retrospective will change the way that you look at cities
What stands out most in this architecture exhibition isn’t a building – but a reflection on the philosophy of built spaces.
The Mori Art Museum is no stranger to crowd-pulling exhibitions, yet this week’s preview of The Architecture of Sou Fujimoto: Primordial Future Forest drew a particularly eager audience. Industry media, foreign journalists and national newspapers were among those packed into the auditorium to listen to the Hokkaido-born architect, whose work at Expo 2025 has further cemented his reputation as the future of Japanese architecture.
The exhibition, which is open through 9 November, is the first major survey of Fujimoto’s work. At its core lies the concept of the forest. Growing up amid the nature of Higashikagura, a town in central Hokkaido, the architect shared recollections of playing in the woods behind his childhood home. “There was a sense of security, a feeling of being enveloped by the forest,” he says. “Yet it wasn’t closed off; it was always open with a sense of freedom.” As Fujimoto entered the field of architecture, he saw an unexpected, quiet connection between forests and cities – a coexistence of diverse elements and a “loose order amid the confusion.” This idea of the forest became central to his practice, serving as both inspiration and a model for the future of architecture and society.
These ideas present themselves throughout the exhibition, which welcomes visitors with a densely packed room of architectural models spanning more than 100 projects across three decades. The display highlights the open boundaries, amorphous nature and myriad parts that are central to Fujimoto’s architecture. Landmark projects, including his award-winning proposal for the Aomori Museum of Art design competition (2000), House N (2008) and his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (2013), share the limelight with unrealised ideas and recent endeavours such as high schools, skyscrapers and seagoing vessels. Detailed scale models are showcased alongside studies in foam, paper and concrete, as well as more abstract explorations using objects such as clothes pegs and potato chips. Collectively, the pieces possess a powerful magnetism that invites viewers to slow down and take a closer look. For every camera-wielding visitor, there was someone examining Fujimoto’s delicate handiwork up close – tracing the evolution of a museum concept or eyeing a dream residence.
In a room dedicated to Expo 2025’s Grand Ring, an equally forensic approach has been applied. Despite the immense scale of the structure – the world’s largest wooden architectural work – Fujimoto sees it as symbolic of his approach to ever-larger projects. “The ring transcends architectural scale but, at the same time, the columns are at 3.6-metre intervals and the space beneath [the ring] is open, so it feels very human-scale,” he says. “I’m fascinated by architecture of such significance because it broadens the range of ideas to be applied, from small, human-scale concepts up to large-scale architecture and urban contexts.”
Developed by Fujimoto in collaboration with Keio University professor and data scientist Hiroaki Miyata, the exhibition also unveils “Resonant City 2025”, which presents a vision for a city shaped by enhanced mobility, energy generation and digital technology. It’s a bold proposal with references to a forest-like ecosystem that, alongside the various interpretations of Fujimoto’s work, is already fuelling discussion about how architecture shapes our world, past, present and future.
