Tabla de contenidos para October 2020 en Space

Upon entering the dimly-lit exhibition hall, one is met by a wave that exceeds the height of an adult to overwhelm the space with an explosive sound. Visitors chase after these waves in this panoramic azure-coloured sealine and enjoy a fleeting escape deep in the city centre. This large-scale multimedia installation exhibition entitled ‘a’strict’, which provides the transportive experience of being at a beach, was on show at Kukje Gallery’s K3 from Aug. 13 to Sep. 27. This immersive media art installation exhibition ‘a’strict’ interacts with its audience through its sequencing of digitally-produced waves, and was produced by the media artist unit a’strict. As a subsidiary content production team residing within the digital design company, d’strict, a’strict is composed of various professionals ranging from video designers, system designers to directors.…

On Aug. 21, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced the 2020 Seoul Architecture Awards winners. This year, the submission was opened from May 14 to July 3, and a total of 101 works were submitted. The judging committee conducted a document review and on-site review and selected one grand prize, winner five best prize winners, and 14 excellence prize winners. The grand prize was awarded to the CLIO Cosmetics of Office by O.C.A (covered in SPACE issue 627). The building, located in Seongsu-dong, is 14 stories high and has two stories below ground, and it is planned to view different directions by stacking the volumes in units of four floors grouped alternately. The committee commented that ‘the building shows the potential for a new type of workspace where nature and…

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) announced the results of The International Competition for Urban Design Concept and Multi-Dimensional Urban and Architectural Space Plan for Third Generation New Towns on Aug. 31. HAEAHN Architecture Consortium’s (HAEAHN Architecture Inc., Supermass Studio, space design group illo) ‘Inclusive Connected City’ and DA Group Consortium’s (DA Group Urban Design & Architecture Co., Ltd., KCAP Architect & Planners) ‘Open Fields City’ were selected as the respective winners for the Changneung and Daejang districts. This international design competition, organised by LH under the theme ‘A Co-Existing and Mutually-Developing City of Co-Sustenance’ was held for the first time on behalf of third generation new towns. This competition is unique in that planned to avoid conventional planal design…

SGHS, the architectural firm established by Kang Hyunseok, Kim Gunho, and Lee Jongcheol, has continued their architectural activities while participating in the various design competitions and exhibitions since its foundation in 2015. They use the general term ‘design company’ as their office name to make one voice towards society. SPACE interviewed SGHS, who attempts to link the past and the present with their own narratives which were not physically built. Kim Yeram: Looking at the portfolio, the percentage of design competition is quite huge. I heard the reason you established the firm in 2015 was also because of the design competition. Kim Gunho: The collaboration started when we worked together on the Seosomun Historical Park and the Shrine Historical Museum design competition held in March 2014. At the time, I…

Spaceyeon Architects Architect Spaceyeon Architects (Lee Sangdae) Design team Yeon Woonghi, Kim Seunghyun, Cha Junyoun Location 51-17, Teheran-ro 5-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea Programme neighborhood facility Site area 553.2 m2 Building area 275.16m2 Gross floor area 797.19m2 Building scope B1, 2F Parking 6 Building to land ratio 49.74% Floor area ratio 96.21% Height 9.17m Structure RC Exterior finishing aluminium panel, colored etching glass Interior finishing marble, stainless steel Structural engineer Harmony Structure Construction JAEYUN D&C Mechanical engineer Sungsin Machine Electrical engineer Cheonil ENC Design period Apr. 2018 – June 2019 Construction period July 2019 – June 2020 Construction budget 2.1 billion KRW Client Yang Sooyoung, Yang Hyejin, Yang Seohee…

Small public architecture projects are difficult. Construction budgets are a defining factor for every aspect of the project, often cutting both design fees and timelines short. In spite of embracing the unprofitable nature of the project from the onset, a lot more time and hard work ends up being poured into these projects. Nevertheless, this can be a rewarding experience. Architects can engage in both design and auditing, and once the client recognises the good intentions of the architect, projects are generally completed and considered successful. Doksan Library Remodeling is an example of this kind of project. Early last year, we received a call asking us to take on the project, and we visited the site with the simple intention to avoid turning them down straight away. However, that visit…

Exploring the work of 16 furniture designers, ‘Seating Seoul’ was on show at Culture Station Seoul 284 from Aug. 25 to Sep. 26. As a project initiated by Culture Station Seoul 284 to support young designers and to provide exhibiting opportunities to artists of various genres, it was organised with the ultimate aim of developing an archive of the chairs designed by young designers in Seoul. So Dongho, Song Bongkyu, and Yang Jungmo (refer to pp.108 – 113) — the directors of ‘Seating Seoul’ — explained their reasons and intentions behind the exhibition as born of ‘the recently rising consumer interest in furniture and furniture design’ and the desire ‘to archive chairs designed in Seoul and thereby create a platform that would connect creators with consumers’. In the exhibition, 16…

Recently, Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced the winners for three consecutive competitions. The winner of the design competition to transform the old Banghwa Garage site at Gangseo-gu into a residential complex for young adults, newlyweds and social overhead capital, was announced on Aug. 20 as G.S. Architects and Associates (principal, Kim Yongmi). This design competition was conducted as a part of a composite project to develop a neglected public site into a residential and recreational facility. Considering the large height differences between the residential facilities in the region, the selected design proposed a ‘mid-scale residential district’. By designing buffer zones, such as a middle courtyard, wind road, and shared terrace, the winning design sought to lessen the impact of this new residential district and the intimidation often felt by locals…

A Village Scene A cluster of houses surrounded by walls was once a familiar scene in our urban residential areas. A wall was the simplest architectural element able to separate a private area from a public one, and a garden surrounded by a wall was a common sight in residential districts in Korea. This feature differentiates cities in Korea from those in other countries or continents like Europe whose apartment blocks with inner courtyards intersect with neighboring streets. Since the 1990s, when modernisation reached an inflection point, the residential typology changed as detached houses were gradually replaced by multi-household houses, multiplex housing and apartments, and the long-term interrelationship between architectural elements, such as gardens and walls, seems to have now lost its integrity. In Seoul, high-end residential areas such as…

In August, JTBC play, a complex cultural space, opened on the opposite side of the Hongdae Cultural Park. The client, a broadcaster, is operating the building as a goods store, as cafés, open studios, and a gallery where the younger generations, the primary viewer for the channel, can easily access their content. In this report based around an interview with Han Seungjae, Kim Sejoong and Han Joowon, SPACE heard more about the process of designing a complex cultural space and the furniture required by this broadcasting company. interview Han Seungjae co-principal, FHHH FRIENDS Kim Sejoong, Han Joowon co-principals, COM × Kim Yeram Kim Yeram: JTBC has opened a space in which its young viewers can experience media contents and brand identity. Could you tell us about the moment you took…

On Aug. 29, the Arts Council Korea released their announcement of the Collaborative Initiative regarding the 17th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition in 2021. This was the postponed opening day of the Venice Biennale, which was delayed once from May to August due to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19). Since then, the 17th Venice Biennale was delayed again, and the changed schedule is now from May 22 to Nov. 21, 2021. At the announcement of the initiative, 80 curators and teams from 34 countries, including the Biennale’s chief curator Hashim Sarkis, the Korean Pavilion curator Shin Haewon (principal, lokaldesign) and participated voluntarily. It is not a statement advanced by the foundation, but the result of a dialogue and agreement between curators from participating countries and is the first collaborative initiative in the…

‘One of our friends once told us that he had a chat with a local taxi driver about Alvar Aalto for about 40 minutes when he visited Finland. We were envious. Could it be possible for us to experience something similar here someday, too?’ This is what Vince and Irene envision. As the co-directors of the publication studio erosis, they hope to see a dissolution of the boundaries between professionals and non-professionals in the fields of art and design. In 2019, they began publishing their Manuscripts series, which features the translations of unpublished writings by artists and designers. In 2020, they lunched an online subscription service called ‘The Generalist’. SPACE interviewed erosis, to explore the ways in which they are trying to expand this liminal space little by little, and…

There are a lot of youth centres and youth training centres spead throughout the country. However, do they really support the activities of teenagers and transform their lives? We began this project with this question in mind. The Gongneung Youth Center For Cultural & Information provides a public space outside school for teenagers to try out whatever they want and provides a space in which they can actively communicate and participate in various activities. Teenagers, the intended owners of this space, have given it a shortened name ‘Gongteo’ (vacant lot). Over the past decade, Gongteo has attracted a lot of people including toddlers, children, the elderly from the village, and even the managers of the space. A Multipurpose Youth Space Created Through Participatory Design Earlier this year, Nowon-gu Office decided…