Sou Fujimoto's 'Architecture Works 1995-2015' prioritizes visuals over insight

All of architect Sou Fujimoto's projects to date are methodically presented in "Architecture Works 1995-2015." This is essentially a reference book, prefaced only by Fujimoto's one page introduction.

The architect's work is presented chronologically, with a system of thematic references listed on each project's title page. This system — which Fujimoto likens to Internet links — connects works that are formally and conceptually similar. But to delve into each project more deeply, readers will need to look elsewhere — most of the 107 works presented here are only given a single spread.

Frustratingly, the brief paragraphs introducing each project are often wasted. Fujimoto uses this space to explain relationships between projects, which makes his reference system redundant. These introductory paragraphs also focus doggedly on the visual mechanisms of Fujimoto's architecture. In Forest of Silence, a proposal for a crematorium in Belgium, he fails to discuss death or the grieving process, but instead explains that "nature is incorporated into architecture" — a theme as obvious from the leafy, light-filled image behind this text as it is from scanning the rest of his oeuvre.

"Architecture Works 1995-2015" concludes with a brief narrative text, in which Fujimoto acknowledges the clients and designers who fostered his career. This is the most lucid and engaging writing in the book, but, at a page-and-a-half long, it is an afterthought what is otherwise a pure architectural monograph. Still, for those interested in Fujimoto, this book fulfills that role admirably.