Treehouses, Towers, and Tea Rooms

Mauro Pierconti is an architectural historian. His most recent research focuses on traditional Japanese architecture and the work of important international architects, including Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Terunobu Fujimori, Shirai Seiichi, Carlo Scarpa, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Otto Wagner. Masuda Akihisa is an architecture photographer. Awarded in 2006 by the Architecture Institute of Japan, his work ranges from the architecture of the Meiji period up to the present day. He has collaborated with Terunobu Fujimori on multiple projects.

A contemporary, eccentric architect who draws on Japanese tradition, Terunobu Fujimori's designs manage to be simultaneously whimsical, beautifully designed, and environmentally sensitive. The projects in this volume will appeal to both architectural professionals and fans of innovative design.

This book is an in-depth analysis from a formal, design, and cultural point of view of Terunobu Fujimori's entire architectural production to date. It is not a mere collection of his works, but an exhaustive review delving into many sources, which finally offers a complete critical interpretation of his work.

Fujimori has made a name for himself in Japan by crafting beguiling little buildings that refuse to follow any of the usual rules. His hand-made structures look like the nests or cocoons of curious creatures, woven, whittled and thatched with organic, earthy materials that could have been scavenged from the forest floor.

This comprehensive monograph provides a complete review of his boldly imaginative projects. The works are presented through lavish and striking photographs, and the volume includes extensive use of sketches and drawings by Fujimori, a section dedicated to his architectural models, and an original essay written by Fujimori for this publication.