Terunobu Fujimori
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese architect and architectural historian.
During the 1970s
and 80s
he made studies of the city about early Western
buildings and unusual occurrences and did not turn to architecture until he was in his forties. His work is considered by many to be eccentric but is characterised by his use of natural materials.
Although he is well known in Japan as a cultural commentator he was not widely known in the West until he represented Japan at the 2006 Venice Biennale
.
, Japan. He studied at Tōhoku University
before entering graduate school at the University of Tōkyō
. He is currently a professor at the University of Tōkyō's Institute of Industrial Science.
Whilst writing his thesis in the 1970s Fujimori formed the Architecture Detectives. In this group he and his colleagues searched the city to find and photograph early Western-style buildings. Twelve years of work on this subject resulted in the publication of the book Adventures of an Architectural Detective: Tokyo (1986). In 1986 Fujimori formed the Roadway Observation Society with Genpei Akasegawa, Shinbo Minami, Joji Hayashi, Tetsuo Matsuda. The group records unusual but naturally occurring patterns in the city, for example the pattern left by a tree on a concrete wall or a rubbish bin that has been bent over to form a seat. Their studies have been compared to Venturi
and Scott-Brown's
Learning from Las Vegas.
In 1991 Fujimori began to practice architecture with his first work, the Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum in Nagano Prefecture. Architectural influences for his work include Le Corbusier
, Claude Nicolas Ledoux
, Takamasa Yoshizaka
, the Ise Shrine and Callanish Standing Stones. His architecture is characterised by eccentricity and humour, experimental use of natural materials and the subversion of traditional techniques. Although the Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum has been criticised for merely wrapping a concrete structure in natural materials it was praised by architect Kengo Kuma
as "generating fond feelings of familiarity in people who had never seen it before".
Well known in Japan as an author, cultural commentator and TV host he was relatively unknown in the West until he represented Japan in the 2006 Venice Biennale. His display in the Japanese pavilion showed houses sprouting leeks
and dandelions
. As the theme of the Biennale was the "city" Fujimori included a woven rice twine hut housing a slide presentation of the work of ROJO. In 2010 he contributed the Beetle's House to one of seven designs for the V&A's
"1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces" exhibition.
His work with ROJO has left an impression on younger architects like Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima of Atelier Bow-Wow
. Like Fujimori they surveyed the city for "no-good" architecture and published their findings in the book Made in Tōkyō.
in Nagano Prefecture, the Takasugi-an Tea House is a four and a half tatami
mat tea house
supported six metres above the ground on two load-bearing trees (the name literally means "too high tea house"). Rather than using the traditional method of entering a tea house by stooping low, the visitor climbs a ladder to the top. Fujimori played with the traditional elements of a tea house in a modern way. For example the picture scroll (kakejiku
) that normally gives a clue about the time of year is replaced with a large window that frames a view to the town where Fujimori grew up.
. Lamune
is the name of a popular fizzy drink that resembles the warm carbonated water that is characteristic of the area. The onsen
is owned by the owner of a nearby traditional inn and is used by guests and members of the public alike. The façade is composed of alternate vertical bands of charred cedar and white mortar. Its many towers act as exhausts for letting out steam and are roofed with hand-rolled copper sheets. The apex of each tower is planted with a live pine tree. The waiting room has furniture carved from burnt cedar and one wall in the men's section has mother-of-pearl
shells pressed into it.
in Shizuoka Prefecture. It was designed to house works of art by physically disabled children from an institute formed by the Japanese singer and actress Mariko Miyagi in 1967. Jutting out of the hillside, Fujimori compares its design to a "hairy mammoth
". The hand-rolled copper roof is connected to the hill by a line of living grass along the ridge. The route through the museum is choreographed to take the visitor from the reception into a landscaped garden before re-entering the museum through a small door at the back. This route is designed to offer an interlude for purification and contemplation from everyday life before viewing the works of art. The simple white interior is punctuated with a lattice-like screen above the main gallery that is reminiscent of the mammoth's spine.
During the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
and 80s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
he made studies of the city about early Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
buildings and unusual occurrences and did not turn to architecture until he was in his forties. His work is considered by many to be eccentric but is characterised by his use of natural materials.
Although he is well known in Japan as a cultural commentator he was not widely known in the West until he represented Japan at the 2006 Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale of architecture
Mostra di Architettura di Venezia, the Architecture section of the Venice Biennale, was established in 1980, although architecture had been a part of the art biennale since 1968....
.
Career
Fujimori was born Miyakawa-mura in Nagano PrefectureNagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
, Japan. He studied at Tōhoku University
Tohoku University
, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...
before entering graduate school at the University of Tōkyō
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
. He is currently a professor at the University of Tōkyō's Institute of Industrial Science.
Whilst writing his thesis in the 1970s Fujimori formed the Architecture Detectives. In this group he and his colleagues searched the city to find and photograph early Western-style buildings. Twelve years of work on this subject resulted in the publication of the book Adventures of an Architectural Detective: Tokyo (1986). In 1986 Fujimori formed the Roadway Observation Society with Genpei Akasegawa, Shinbo Minami, Joji Hayashi, Tetsuo Matsuda. The group records unusual but naturally occurring patterns in the city, for example the pattern left by a tree on a concrete wall or a rubbish bin that has been bent over to form a seat. Their studies have been compared to Venturi
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
and Scott-Brown's
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown, is an architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia...
Learning from Las Vegas.
In 1991 Fujimori began to practice architecture with his first work, the Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum in Nagano Prefecture. Architectural influences for his work include Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Claude Nicolas Ledoux
Claude Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
, Takamasa Yoshizaka
Takamasa Yoshizaka
, family name also romanized as Yosizaka, was a Japanese architect and former president of the Architectural Institute of Japan and a keen mountaineer....
, the Ise Shrine and Callanish Standing Stones. His architecture is characterised by eccentricity and humour, experimental use of natural materials and the subversion of traditional techniques. Although the Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum has been criticised for merely wrapping a concrete structure in natural materials it was praised by architect Kengo Kuma
Kengo Kuma
is a Japanese architect.- Biography :Kuma was born in Kanagawa, Japan, and attended Eiko Gakuen junior and senior high schools. After completing a major in architecture at the University of Tokyo in 1979, he worked for a time at Nihon Sekkei and TODA Corporation. He then moved to New York for...
as "generating fond feelings of familiarity in people who had never seen it before".
Well known in Japan as an author, cultural commentator and TV host he was relatively unknown in the West until he represented Japan in the 2006 Venice Biennale. His display in the Japanese pavilion showed houses sprouting leeks
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
and dandelions
Taraxacum
Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Eurasia and North America, and two species, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, are found as weeds worldwide. Both species are edible in their entirety...
. As the theme of the Biennale was the "city" Fujimori included a woven rice twine hut housing a slide presentation of the work of ROJO. In 2010 he contributed the Beetle's House to one of seven designs for the V&A's
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
"1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces" exhibition.
His work with ROJO has left an impression on younger architects like Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima of Atelier Bow-Wow
Atelier Bow-Wow
Atelier Bow-Wow is a Tokyo-based architecture firm, founded in 1992 by Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima. The firm is well known for its domestic and cultural architecture and its research exploring the urban conditions of micro, ad hoc architecture....
. Like Fujimori they surveyed the city for "no-good" architecture and published their findings in the book Made in Tōkyō.
Takasugi-an Tea House (2003-2004)
Situated in ChinoChino, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano, Japan.As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 55,902 and the density of 209.83 persons per km². The total area is 266.41 km².The city was founded on August 1, 1958.- Geography :*mountain**Mount Yatsugatake...
in Nagano Prefecture, the Takasugi-an Tea House is a four and a half tatami
Tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width...
mat tea house
Chashitsu
In Japanese tradition, architectural spaces designed to be used for tea ceremony gatherings are known as chashitsu ....
supported six metres above the ground on two load-bearing trees (the name literally means "too high tea house"). Rather than using the traditional method of entering a tea house by stooping low, the visitor climbs a ladder to the top. Fujimori played with the traditional elements of a tea house in a modern way. For example the picture scroll (kakejiku
Kakemono
A , more commonly referred to as a , is a Japanese scroll painting or calligraphy mounted usually with silk fabric edges on a flexible backing, so that it can be rolled for storage....
) that normally gives a clue about the time of year is replaced with a large window that frames a view to the town where Fujimori grew up.
Lamune Onsen (2004-2005)
Lamune Onsen is situated in Takeda in Ōita PrefectureOita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
. Lamune
Ramune
is a carbonated soft drink originally sold in Japan which was introduced in Kobe by Alexander Cameron Sim.-Bottle design:Ramune is widely known for the distinctive design of its bottle, often called Codd-neck bottles after the inventor, Hiram Codd. They are made of glass and sealed with a marble;...
is the name of a popular fizzy drink that resembles the warm carbonated water that is characteristic of the area. The onsen
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
is owned by the owner of a nearby traditional inn and is used by guests and members of the public alike. The façade is composed of alternate vertical bands of charred cedar and white mortar. Its many towers act as exhausts for letting out steam and are roofed with hand-rolled copper sheets. The apex of each tower is planted with a live pine tree. The waiting room has furniture carved from burnt cedar and one wall in the men's section has mother-of-pearl
Nacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....
shells pressed into it.
Nemunoki Museum of Art (2004-2006)
The Nemunoki Museum of Art is situated in KakegawaKakegawa, Shizuoka
is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 117,858 and a population density of 444 persons per km². The total area was 265.63 km².-Geography:...
in Shizuoka Prefecture. It was designed to house works of art by physically disabled children from an institute formed by the Japanese singer and actress Mariko Miyagi in 1967. Jutting out of the hillside, Fujimori compares its design to a "hairy mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
". The hand-rolled copper roof is connected to the hill by a line of living grass along the ridge. The route through the museum is choreographed to take the visitor from the reception into a landscaped garden before re-entering the museum through a small door at the back. This route is designed to offer an interlude for purification and contemplation from everyday life before viewing the works of art. The simple white interior is punctuated with a lattice-like screen above the main gallery that is reminiscent of the mammoth's spine.
Awards
- Mainichi Publication Culture Award (for Meiji Plans for Tōkyō)
- Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (for Adventures of an Architectural Detective: Tokyo)
- Japan Grand Art Prix for the Nira (Leek) house
- Architectural Institute of JapanArchitectural Institute of JapanThe Architectural Institute of Japan, or AIJ, is a Japanese professional body for architects, building engineers, and researchers in architecture....
Prix for the Student Dormitory of Kumamoto Agricultural College (2001)
Selected projects
- Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum (1991), Chino, Nagano
- Dandelion House, (1995), Kokubunji, Tokyo
- Nira House (Leek House), (1997), Machida, Tokyo
- Takasugi-an Tea House, (2004), Chino, Nagano
- Chocolate House, (2009), Kokubunji, Tokyo
- Roof House, ( 2009), Shiga PrefectureShiga Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...