建筑师藤本壮介阐释“森林理念”将成为一切的核心
Architect Sou Fujimoto explains how the ‘idea of the forest’ is central to everything

由专筑网Yinglin，小R编译

过去五年间，藤本壮介以设计监制身份主导策划2025年大阪世博会园区规划。值此Wallpaper* 2025设计大奖揭晓之际，这位日本建筑大师畅谈了2024年及未来一年建筑界在材料性、自然观、多样性以及技术进步等领域的思考。

Sou Fujimoto has been masterminding the upcoming Expo 2025 Osaka for the past five years, as the site’s design producer. To mark the 2025 Wallpaper* Design Awards, the Japanese architect talks to us about 2024, the year ahead, and materiality, nature, diversity and technological advances


▲ 这张肖像摄于东京越中岛工作室，记录了藤本壮介担任《Wallpaper*》2022设计大奖评委的工作状态。
Architect Sou Fujimoto photographed in his studio in Etchujima, Tokyo for his role as a judge at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022
(Image credit: Kyohei Hattori)

森林不仅是充盈树木的户外空间，更是指引未来生活与建筑创造的范本。我在日本北部长大，童年在森林中嬉戏的时光塑造了我的认知。那是一片亲密无间的所在，虽存多元区域却无明确界限，万物以柔和姿态交织共生。当我们的脚步迈向2025年，我愈发确信森林应成为建筑与社会的理想范式——它揭示了个体如何在多样性中绽放独特光彩，同时维系深层联结；更昭示着人与自然和谐共生的可能路径。

当下恰似崭新时代的破晓时分。这是一个深刻变革的时代，而变革永远是孕育新思想、新理念、新设计的温床。价值体系正在重构，社会形态持续演进，这种历史时刻的震荡感，恰与20世纪现代主义时期开端形成奇妙共振——彼时涌现的先锋思潮，同样深刻形塑了人类百年来的生存方式与思维范式。

A forest is more than an outdoor space filled with trees: it is a model for how we can live our lives and create architecture for the future. Growing up in northern Japan, I spent my childhood days playing in the forest. It was a place of intimacy, with many diverse areas yet nothing divided, everything softly interconnected. As we move into 2025, I see the forest as a model for architecture and society. It shows us how distinct identities can thrive in diversity while still being connected – and how harmony between humans and nature can be rediscovered.
Today feels like the dawn of a new modern age. It is a time of profound change – and change always sparks new ideas, concepts, designs. Our values are shifting, societies are evolving and this moment in history feels similar to the start of the 20th-century modern age, when new ideas deeply shaped how we went on to live and think.


▲ 这张肖像摄于藤本壮介2024年设计的东京佩斯画廊空间内
Fujimoto, photographed at art gallery Pace Tokyo, which he designed in 2024
(Image credit: Akira Yamada)

藤本壮介的2024总结与2025趋势前瞻

历经百年变迁，诸多“现代”思维范式与概念体系已显不合时宜。新冠疫情犹如一面明镜，映照出传统范式的深层滞后。我们正面临着由可持续性、多样性、生物科技、人工智能、过度互联与自然伦理等命题构筑的新认知疆域。对于思考世界图景的新生代而言，未来一年必将充满智性激荡。我预见创造力的革命浪潮将席卷建筑、艺术、音乐等各个领域——唯愿新生代设计师能以足够的勇气与真诚，持续推动这场变革进程。

于我而言，2025年的焦点无疑是四月启幕的大阪世博会。过去五年倾力打造的巨型木构环状建筑，将呈现世界文明交融的盛景——各国展馆设计理念与全球文化活动在此完美共生。包括日本在内的诸多国家，都在探索基于可持续理念的未来建筑范式。木材建筑的全球复兴浪潮尤为显著，近十年来，通过每月往返巴黎事务所的观察，我深刻感受到从自然材料运用到循环建造技术的范式转变，这种趋势在后疫情时代更显蓬勃之势。

Sou Fujimoto on 2024 and what's coming in 2025
Now, after more than 100 years, many “modern” mindsets and “modern” concepts are irrelevant. The COVID pandemic made us realise how outdated much of it is. We now have new situations, points of view and questions to answer: about sustainability, diversity, biotechnology, AI, over-connection and nature. The year ahead is likely to be an exciting time, particularly for younger generations thinking about the world around them. I see creative revolutions across every category – architecture, art, music. My hope is that the young designers of tomorrow will be brave and honest enough to continue driving this change forward.
For me, 2025 is all about the Osaka Expo, which opens in April. I have been working intensively on this for the past five years, creating a large timber ring structure. It’s a truly global event, a wonderful integration of different pavilion designs and international activities. Many countries – including Japan – are trying to explore future architecture based on sustainability. There are many wooden structures and I sense a real push across the world to create more sustainable architecture. I’ve noticed, from monthly visits to my Paris office, that in the last 10 years, there has been a strong global shift towards wooden construction, natural materials or reusing and recycling. This has become even more active since the pandemic.


▲ 藤本壮介设计的匈牙利音乐之家
House of Music in Hungary by Sou Fujimoto
(Image credit: Palkó György)

此刻，大阪世博会正为实践最新颖的木构创新试验搭建舞台。人们不禁要问：“当下语境中的可持续性究竟呈现何种样态？”作为日本建筑师，这个命题令我深思——在全球可持续发展版图中，日本尚处后位。世博会恰是日本社会在全球视野中深度思考可持续命题的绝佳契机。当我们公布设计方案时，许多日本民众并不理解这个为世博会设计的木构环状体。

在传统认知中，木结构多用于私人住宅、寺庙神社，似乎与尖端建造技术无缘。但随着世博环状体方案与全球其他大型木构项目同期曝光，我感受到日本民众正逐步理解我们的愿景。关键在于开启人们对木构建筑可能性的全新认知——期待通过意大利馆、捷克馆等建筑实践进一步强化这种理念。

Now, the Osaka Expo sets the stage for realising the newest and most innovative trials into wooden construction. One can wonder: ‘What does sustainability look like in the current climate?’ As a Japanese architect, it’s interesting for me to think about this, because Japan is quite far behind globally in terms of sustainability. The Expo is a great opportunity for Japanese society to think more deeply about sustainability in a global context. When we revealed our proposal, many Japanese didn’t understand the wooden ring we designed for the Expo.
For many, wooden construction is for private homes, temples or shrines – it’s not thought of as a showcase for the latest building technology. But recently, the ring has been widely published at the same time as other large-scale wooden constructions are also being noticed – and I feel that Japanese people are starting to understand our vision. It's all about opening people’s minds to the different possibilities of wooden construction – and hopefully, this will be emphasised through other structures such as the Italian Pavilion and Czech Pavilion.


▲ 藤本壮介与Nicolas Laisné、Dimitri Roussel及OXO建筑事务所合作的“白树塔”，这件位于法国蒙彼利埃的纯白雕塑性住宅作品，正是这种创新精神的具象化呈现。
Sou Fujimoto, Nicolas Laisné, Dimitri Roussel and OXO architectes collaborate on L’Arbre Blanc, a bright, white, sculptural residential scheme in Montpellier, France.
(Image credit: SFA+NLA+OXO+DR)

从多维度审视，日本虽在某些领域滞后于国际标准，却拥有卓越的设计传统与建筑智慧，更兼社会组织的高度秩序性。尤为珍贵的是，我们传承着与自然共生的千年智慧——这种镌刻在民族基因中的生存哲学，在传统日式住宅中得以完美呈现：移门纸窗造就的模糊边界，轻量化建筑本体与庭院自然的有机对话，构筑出以自然景观为核心的生活场域。这种建筑不是孤立的存在，而是广袤生态环境的有机延伸。当下的核心命题在于：如何将这种自然观更深层地融入现代设计？答案绝非简单的垂直绿化装饰，而需触及本质的范式革新。

自然本质中蕴含着不可控性。20世纪人类妄图掌控万物的野心已然破产——地球生态系统以其磅礴伟力、生物多样性及精妙运作机制，始终超越人类控制维度。此刻历史节点恰是开启认知革命的契机：学会接纳不可控性，这绝非消极姿态，因为未知领域往往孕育灵感迸发的惊喜。当然，必要的自然调控仍不可或缺，但关键要在享受自然馈赠、拥抱意外惊喜与维系生态平衡之间，寻得更具智慧的共生之道。

In many ways, Japan is behind global standards. But we have good quality of design and architecture; plus, society is very well organised. We also have a tradition of living together with nature, an important aspect of Japanese life. We need to push this to the world, as for more than 1,000 years, we have been living with nature in Japan. Daily life and philosophies have evolved in harmony with nature. We see this in the traditional Japanese house, with its sliding paper walls and blurred boundaries. The architecture itself is very light: the garden and surrounding nature are the main focal points of a home. The built structure is part of a wider living environment and nature. So how can we integrate nature further into design? It’s not just about bringing greenery onto buildings – this is always nice, but it goes beyond that.
The important point about nature is that we cannot control it. In the 20th century, humanity set out to control everything – we learned this wasn’t possible. Earth is bigger than us. It has dynamism, power, diversity of animals and plants, and beautiful ecosystems. This moment in human history is an opportunity to open our minds – and sometimes be exposed to the uncontrollable. This is not a negative state because the uncontrollable is unpredictable, bringing inspirational surprises. Of course, sometimes we need to control nature, but we have to find a better balance between enjoying it, embracing its surprising aspects and living in harmony with it.


▲ 藤本壮介2014年设计的伦敦蛇形画廊展亭
Sou Fujimoto's 2014 Serpentine Pavilion in London
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)

这场疫情恰成绝佳注脚：整个20世纪，人类构筑起精密高效的社会系统——虽具历史必要性，却难掩过度控制的痼疾。这种控制欲不仅戕害自然生态，更反噬人类自身，建筑领域尤见其弊。当我们将建筑功能推向极致，看似提升效率，实则禁锢思维，最终窄化生命维度。人类生活本如自然：充满弹性与暧昧性。强求掌控一切只会制造压抑张力，我们亟需为自由留白。

常驻巴黎的经历让我钦佩欧洲社会对个体自由的尊崇。日本虽同样珍视自由，但社会和谐共识往往优先，致使个人自由常屈从集体意志。这种文化特质犹如双刃剑，利弊共生。

The pandemic is the perfect example. Until the last century, we developed and built a very efficient system for society – this was important but maybe too controlling. It had a hugely negative impact on nature, Earth – and humankind. We can see this in our buildings. We have tried to make buildings as functional as possible – but if you make them too functional, it limits people’s minds and ultimately their lives. Human life is like nature: it is flexible and ambiguous. If humans try too hard to control everything, they create negative pressure – we need space for freedom.
Having spent a lot of time in Paris, I admire European countries – there, society is based on the idea of individual freedom. In Japan of course we have this – but the idea of harmony in society is also very important, so people often repress their personal freedom and follow societal consensus. This can be both positive and negative.


▲ 藤本壮介2020年设计的白井屋酒店
Fujimoto's Shiroiya Hotel, 2020
(Image credit: TBC)

当下日本正经历多元化进程，可经济低迷却逆向催生保守思潮。但即便在这样的语境下，仍不乏远见卓识之士——我的许多委托方皆是锐意创新的企业创始人，他们致力于探索更契合地球未来的发展路径。我始终关注如何将“多样性”与“统一性”辩证融合：既要促进多元绽放，更要避免群体割裂；需培育不同观点、态度间互动共生的共同体意识。

这正是大阪世博会总体规划的核心命题。面对全球分裂加剧的复杂局势，人类亟需培养包容胸襟——接纳多元价值体系，理解"不可控性"如同自然法则般客观存在。唯有如此，方能终止无休止的对抗。本世纪前二十载已见证翻天覆地的变革，这种变革既体现为实体设计产品的迭代，更深植观念层面的觉醒。当下人们比以往更理解公共空间作为聚合场域的价值，或许这正是我们该放缓脚步的时刻。

Japan is becoming more diverse – but the economy is not in a good state and Japanese society unfortunately tends to become more conservative when this happens. Having said that, there are still many visionary individuals – many of my clients, for example, are founders of companies trying to do something different and more suitable for the future and the Earth. I am interested in how we can combine the ideas of “diversity” and “unity”. We need to enhance diversity – but avoid people being divided and clustered against one another. We should help create a sense of unity, with interactive relationships between different points of view and attitudes.
This is discussed in the masterplan at the Osaka Expo. This is extremely important in light of a very divided and complex global situation. As humans, we need to be generous – and accept different values and viewpoints and the fact that people are uncontrollable, just like nature. Otherwise, we will never finish fighting one another. The first quarter of this century has witnessed huge revolutionary changes – not just physical, in the form of wonderful design products, but also conceptual. Now, people understand the importance of public spaces – places for gathering. We need to slow down.


▲ 这是藤本壮介“House N”住宅项目，这张照片于 Iwan Baan建筑摄影展展出，该摄影展在维特拉设计博物馆举办。
House N by Sou Fujimoto, recently seen at the Vitra Design Museum show on photographer Iwan Baan's work
(Image credit: Courtesy of Iwan Baan and Vitra Design Museum)

探索这种动态关系，材料研究不失为关键路径。未来五十年间，游走于自然与人造物之间的生物技术，将在建筑领域彰显愈发重要的价值。建筑革命始终与材料革新并辔同行——现代主义依托钢铁、混凝土与巨型玻璃确立范式，而今木构建筑的全球复兴标志着新纪元的开启。生物技术或将引领下一波浪潮：我们能否创造出具有治愈属性、能自我更新的智能材料？

在地性设计理念同样迎来复兴曙光。自去年起，我担任蛇形画廊展亭建筑师遴选顾问委员，其全球建筑趋势调研揭示出令人振奋的图景：基于多元文化基因、传统材料智慧与气候应对策略的建筑实验遍地开花。新生代设计师正以文化自信为底色，为未来探寻独具地域特色的解决方案——这种在地性与普世性的辩证统一，恰是当代建筑最动人的特质。

One way to explore this dynamic is through materials. Over the next 50 years, biotechnology – which hovers somewhere between nature and artefacts – will become increasingly important in architecture. Architectural revolutions have always gone hand-in-hand with materials. Modern architecture was established on steel, concrete and large-sized glass. Now, wooden construction is coming back. This marks the start of a new phase. And biotechnology will be next. Can we use materials that have healing qualities, and that can self-renew?
The idea of localised design is also becoming more important. Since last year, I’ve been on the advisory board for the Serpentine Pavilion’s selection of architects. Their global research into what is happening around the world is fascinating. It is exciting to see so many architectural trials underway, based on different cultures, traditional materials and climate situations. Younger generations seem proud of their countries and cultures and are increasingly trying to develop unique answers for the future. It's localised but universal.


▲ 藤本壮介为太宰府天满宫设计的临时殿堂“浮游之森”
Fujimoto's temporary hall for the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine features 'floating forest'
(Image credit: Dazaifu Tenmangu)

2025年备受瞩目的中东地区，其价值不仅在于政治格局演变，更在于迸发的创意能量。我们在沙特阿拉伯与阿布扎比推进的多个项目，印证着这片土地正以破界之姿重塑建筑版图——全球建筑精英汇聚于此，催生出难以预见的空间实验。这种充满不确定性的探索过程，恰恰构成最激动人心的时代注脚。

对于AI技术引发的创意产业变革，我怀抱好奇与乐观。工作室引入AI如同置入一面认知棱镜：它生成的图纸与图像不断诘问着我们——“这是藤本语言吗？”这些数字造物或许终将融入创作，或许仅是过客，但最重要的是它激发的思辨张力。正是在这类对话中，既有理念获得新解，崭新构想得以萌发。我深信这项技术能成为创意的催化剂。然而必须承认，无数灵感源于人类独有的具身经验——我们的思考与哲学深深植根于肉身存在。当AI尚未拥有实体，即便获取海量身体数据，能否真正复现人类的身体思维？无论答案如何，我保持乐观：差异化的观念碰撞，终将孕育启迪灵感的火花。

One region that many will be watching in 2025 – not only for its political developments but in terms of creative growth – is the Middle East. We have several projects underway in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The region seems to be passionately active in developing architecture and design, with many global architects involved. No one knows how this will unfold, but it’s an exciting time, it feels like a place where the boundaries are being pushed in unexpected directions.
I’m curious and optimistic about changes brought by AI technology in the creative industries. In our studio, AI makes us look at what we are doing – it’s like a reflective mirror, generating drawings and images which pose the question to ourselves: ‘Is this Fujimoto?’ We understand this may or may not be part of our creations – what is most important is the discussion it activates. It’s through conversations that I find new ideas or new meanings to existing ideas. I feel this technology can stimulate creativity. However, many ideas originate from the human form. This physical body experience reflects our thinking and philosophies. For now, AI doesn’t have a body – so I am curious, if they obtain knowledge and data about the body, can they think about it like humans? Either way, I am optimistic – because if different ideas and perspectives emerge, this can be inspiring and interesting for us.


▲ 藤本壮介设计的东京佩斯画廊
Pace Tokyo by Sou Fujimoto
(Image credit: Nacasa & Partners)

究竟如何统摄纷繁理念与地域实践？于我而言，答案始终回归森林意象。这种概念性森林或可成为未来建筑的终极范式——既应时而生又超越时代。当世界持续以变革之姿带来惊喜，唯愿新生代能领悟创造世界的真谛：在多样与统一的辩证和谐中，重建如森林般的人与自然共生秩序。这既是空间的诗学，更是文明的救赎。

Finally, how does one connect all these ideas, thoughts and places together? For me, it comes back to the forest. This idea of a conceptual forest can be an architectural model for the future. It is timely and timeless – and as the world continues to change and surprise us, I hope that younger generations can understand the beauty of trying to create a world where there is harmony between diversity and unity, humans and nature – just like a forest.