June 7, 2010 at 8:58 am

Remember Jenga? This is the House Version of It

by twistedsifter

Remember Jenga? The game of wooden blocks, steady hands and wobbly structures? Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed a space that closely resembles the classic childhood pastime. Through strict use of only 350mm (14 inch) beams, Fujimoto has created a fascinating space where inhabitants ‘discover, rather than be prescribed; the functionalities of the space’.

Photograph by Iwan Baan

FINAL WOODEN HOUSE BY SOU FUJIMOTO

– The design is meant to highlight the versatility of lumber. Using large beams of 350mm (14 inch) square profile cedar, the pieces are piled on top of one another, creating the walls, ceiling, floors and built in nooks
– This leaves no definitive lines between each of the structure’s components, thus blending the entire interior of the space together
– The function of the small home is defined by how the user adapts to the wood structure. the house is meant to bring a kind of harmony between the built environment and the way the human body behaves within the space
– Here, people are distributed three-dimensionally in the space. This is a place like an amorphous landscape with a new experience of various senses of distances. Inhabitants discover, rather than being prescribed, various functionalities in these convolutions

Photograph by Iwan Baan

PROJECT DETAILS

Architects: Sou Fujimoto Architects
Location: Kumamoto, Japan
Contractor: Tanakagumi Construction
Design Year: 2005-2006
Construction Year: 2007-2008
Site Area: 89.3 sqm (961 sq. ft.)
Constructed Area: 15.13 sqm (163 sq. ft.)
Photographer: Iwan Baan

Photograph by Iwan Baan

SOU FUJIMOTO

– Born in Hokkaido, Japan, on August 4th, 1971
– He graduated from the department of architecture in the faculty of engineering at the university of Tokyo in 1994
– Established his own architectural practice in Tokyo in 2000
– Has lectured at Kyoto University since 2007

Below you will find excerpts from an interview Fujimoto did with Designboom. Check out the full interview here!

Photograph by Iwan Baan

Photograph by Iwan Baan

When you were a child, did you want to become an architect?

I grew up in Hokkaido, in the northern part of Japan, surrounded by nature and I enjoyed just playing in the forest. I didn’t think about any future of mine. My hero was Albert Einstein, so originally I wanted to be a physicist like him, I was interested in the physical aspects of our world. Now I find many similarities in the research and practice in both fields, architecture and physics. my first experience with architecture was with Antonio Gaudi (through reading a book about him).

– via Designboom

Photograph by Iwan Baan

Describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.

I call it ‘primitive future’. A sort of primitive situation that relates to the human ‘cave’ habitation but at the same time I like to create something new for the future. I recently gave a lecture ‘cave or nest’, the two embryonic states of architecture. A ‘nest’ is a place for people that is very well prepared, everything is assembled and very functional, meanwhile the ‘cave’ is just a raw space, which people need to explore and find their own comfort within. this is a situation where people can use space creatively. I prefer something like the cave-like-unintentional space. Something that is in between nature and artifact – formless form.

Formless Form?

Space is relationships and architecture generates various senses of distances. I’m very optimistic and see architecture as something between living together and independently. There are many degrees of interaction amongst people. To construct a wall is to bisect a space into 0 and 1, however a space must have intrinsically many graduations between 0 and 1. I like to create an in-between-space, therefore my works are very basic (I’ve designed architecture that is
very simple but looks complex due to its geometric form).

– via Designboom

Photograph by Iwan Baan

What is the best moment of the day?

Morning, I’d say, except when it rains (laughs). I usually wake up early rather than late, and mornings are very precious for me. I like the beginning of everything. The morning is the beginning of a day and I like to think of it as the beginning of architecture.

– via Designboom

Photograph by Iwan Baan

Who would you like to design something for?

An art museum or some kind of museum would be very interesting for me, or an art gallery and a photo studio. I like to design medical facilities. In 2006 I worked for a mental hospital, developing the children’s center for psychic rehabilitation. Right now we are designing a library.

– via Designboom

Photograph by Iwan Baan

Is there any architect from the past, you appreciate a lot?
Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, Mies van Der Rohe… and of course Michelangelo. I also like the architecture designed by nobody, for example Gothic cathedrals.

And those still working / contemporary architects?
I love Frank Gehry because his architecture is like a second nature, like a jungle. Something beyond artificial things, it’s amazing.

– via Designboom

Photograph by Iwan Baan