Weekend Fun: Final Wooden House | Sou Fujimoto

“Final Wooden House” is a very small weekend house by architect Sou Fujimoto. Fujimoto’s works are often playful, questioning the basic assumptions of what a house should be. In his take on the log cabin, massive 14″ (35 cm) cedar timbers are stacked into a cube. These timbers form not only the exterior but also extend inside to create a complex series of interlinked spaces and cubbyholes. The various surfaces can be used as tables, beds, shelves or benches. The only predefined space is the bathroom in a lower corner. In the words of the architect:

There is no separation of floor, wall and ceiling here. A place that was thought as a floor transforms into a chair, a ceiling, or a wall from different perspectives. Floor levels are relative and people perceive the space according to where they are…The occupants discover various functions within those undulations.

An interesting concept but how practical is it? The spaces may not be predefined but they aren’t overly flexible either; the surfaces are fixed so there is no option of rearranging the furniture. It looks like a fun space to spend some time crawling around in, but it would probably be uncomfortable with all those sharp edges and projecting corners inviting bumped heads and bruised shins. From the photos it also looks very confined; not a place for someone prone to claustrophobia:

This structure might work better as a piece of playground equipment than as a house. However, it wasn’t designed for us, and maybe it does work for the owner as an occasional getaway cabin. Could you live in this small house, at least on weekends? Let us know what you think of it in the comments!

Click a thumbnail to view a larger photo, then click on the photo to advance to the next one.

Photographs copyright Jeff Gaines (Flickr account japanese_craft_construction), Kenta Mabuchi (Flickr account mab-ken) and Iwan Baan.

Text copyright 2012 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.