Sou Fujimoto is fast becoming a contemporary icon of Japanese architecture. This Special Volume in the Contemporary Architect's Concept series shows why. The university library is Fujimoto's largest building to date, and his first major institutional project. The library's users criticised Fujimoto's original concept for lacking functionality. This lead to an improved re-design that delighted Fujimoto himself. The tranquillity, clarity and structural force with which Fujimoto completed his forest of books is captured perfectly by photographers Daici Ano, Naoki Ishikawa and Keiko Sasaoka, complementing the building's plans and Fujimoto's textual analysis.