House N

house, Ōita, Japan

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 21, 2026

Quick Summary

House N is a residential structure in Oita, Japan, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Completed in 2008, its design intentionally blurs the lines between interior living spaces, the outdoors, and the surrounding street. The house features a concrete outer shell with large, unglazed windows, enclosing two inner boxes and an outdoor area with trees and a garden. This layered design offers inhabitants privacy while maintaining a connection to nature and the environment. Fujimoto's philosophy, termed "primitive future," aims to create spaces that are adaptable to human behavior and encourage flexible use. Oita is a city and port in northeastern Kyushu, Japan.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Sou Fujimoto
House N, a residential structure in Ōita, Japan, was also completed in 2008. Fujimoto’s design blurred the boundaries between domestic space and the street, and between the built environment and nature, with a series of progressively more intimate living spaces nested within one another. A…
Read More
House N, a residential structure in Ōita, Japan, was also completed in 2008. Fujimoto’s design blurred the boundaries between domestic space and the street, and between the built environment and nature, with a series of progressively more intimate living spaces nested within one another. A…
Read More