sou fujimoto exhibits scaled model of 'house N' at the national museum of modern art, tokyo

‘living within/without windows’ is a large-scale model of sou fujimoto‘s unique ‘house N’, built originally in 2008 in oita prefecture, japan. the model has been created for the exhibition, ‘the window: a journey of art and architecture through windows’, organized by the national museum of modern art, tokyo, which, together with the window research institute (see previous coverage here), explores the role of windows from various perspectives. transcending conventional notions of a window, the large openings in the white-hued, cuboid ‘house N’ form a nested structure made up of three highly-penetrated layers of progressive size. similarly, the model version of the project invites visitors into a nested structure, but of different size and use.

images by daisuke shima

sou fujimoto‘s ‘living within/without windows’ is part of the exhibition, ‘the window: a journey of art and architecture through windows’, organized by the national museum of modern art, tokyo, together with the window research institute. similar to the original architecture of ‘house N’, the large-scale model explores the idea of a nested structure, as well as the different functions windows can have in a building. three layers of concrete walls nested inside one another form the structure of the house, while large openings in each layer overlap to create varying lines of sight and lighting conditions. though the model only includes two layers of walls, it succeeds in conveying the main concepts of the project to visitors.

‘windows carry the important role of separating and connecting the inside and outside, so they are essentially at the front-line of where architecture is defined,’ explains sou fujimoto in an interview with the window research institute. ‘I wanted to attempt to experiment with this most critical part of architecture. that house is composed of three boxes that have been nested in such a way that there are more windows beyond a window, and there are still more windows even farther beyond those windows.’ the model at the national museum of modern art, tokyo, allows visitors to experience this spatial concept first hand, and explore the relationship between inside and outside by stepping into its interior.

as visitors enter the work, they become aware of the structure’s multiple layers and openings, which define the intricate relationship between the inside of the house and exterior environment. the large windows also connect the interior with nature, making it seem as if one is constantly outside while remaining protected by the structure’s walls. oddly, when one experiences the house from within, the presence of all those windows diminishes as they gradually transform into the space itself.

‘although these windows exist as objects, I was more interested in how they could transcend being objects and generate a certain atmosphere of sorts from the layering of the spaces in between them,’ adds fujimoto, who originally built the house in 2008 for a couple and their dog. ‘the whole building can thus be seen to have been made out of windows, and at the same time, the windows can be seen to have disappeared as objects and to have become the space itself.’

‘the window: a journey of art and architecture through windows’ took place at the national museum of modern art, tokyo from november 1, 2019, to february 2, 2020. the exhibition, organized jointly with the window research institute that advocate ‘windowology,’ focuses on windows from various viewpoints, including art, architecture, and history among others.

project info:

name: living within/without windows

architect: sou fujimoto architects

exhibition: the window: a journey of art and architecture through windows

organizer/ location: the national museum of modern art, tokyo

co-organizer: window research institute

duration: november 1, 2019 – february 2, 2020