Ebook K-Architecture tradition meets modernity present the content Korean modernism and its legacies; pushing the envelope: new ideas and experiments; Korean spirit embodied in traditional architecture; the history of Korean architecture; bustling cities, rising architecture.
Korean Culture No.12 K ArCHitecture Tradition Meets Modernity K Architecture Korean Culture No.12 K-architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Copyright © 2013 by Korean Culture and Information Service All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher First Published in 2013 by Korean Culture and Information Service Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phone: 82-2-398-1914~20 Fax: 82-2-398-1882 Website: www.kocis.go.kr ISBN: 978-89-7375-582-0 04610 ISBN: 978-89-7375-578-3 04080 (set) Printed in the Republic of Korea For further information about Korea, please visit: www.korea.net K Architecture Tradition Meets Modernity Contents 09 Prologue Chapter One 13 Bustling Cities, Rising Architecture 14 Rediscovering Korean Architecture 17 Taking the Global Stage Chapter Two 27 The History of Korean Architecture 28 Stone Pagodas and Temple Architecture 35 The Beauty of Column-head Brackets and Entasis 40 Humble Spaces in Harmony with Nature 46 East Meets West; Tradition Meets Modernity 57 Chapter Three Korean Spirit Embodied in Traditional Architecture 58 Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto 60 Muryangsujeon Hall at Buseoksa Temple K- Architecture: The Convergence of Tradition and Modernity Janggyeongpanjeon Hall at Haeinsa Temple 62 Changdeokgung Palace 64 Jongmyo Shrine 67 Yangdong Village 69 Soswaewon Garden 72 Dosan Seowon and Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academies 76 Hwaseong Fortress 79 Seongyojang House 82 Chapter Four Korean Modernism and Its Legacies 87 Two Giants of Korean Modernism 89 The 4.3 Group and Architectural Humanities 94 Standing at the Boundary of Korean and Global 98 Chapter Five Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 109 Beyond the “City of Rooms” 109 A New Housing Culture between the Beehives 112 Evolution of Korean Modernism 115 Landscape Architecture and the Transforming Cityscape 120 Reinterpretation of Hanok 124 Appendix Further Reading 130 “Somewhere between tradition and modernity, Korea’s young architects have found a style all their own.” Frankfurter Neue Presse, December 29, 2007 “The hallmarks of Korean architecture are its outstanding experimental spirit and its flexible approach to addressing complex issues in a changing environment The result is a vitality and dynamism worth emulating.” Die Welt, January 11, 2008 “The combination of art, philosophy, science, aesthetics, and the peacefulness of the hanok is remarkably complex and beautifully integrated and interrelated.” Peter Bartholomew, former President of Royal Asiatic Society–Korea Branch K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Baeksangwon Condominium at Lotte Buyeo Resort designed by KYWC Epilogue © Kim Jae-kyeong Prologue Architecture is a vessel for life The human environments and individual structures it creates give us better spaces for our life It is also a vital cultural asset, a signal of a society’s capacity for cultural production, technology, and social consensus Venice, that pinnacle of Renaissance culture, is home to many great works of art, but it is all the more beautiful for its distinctive canals and beautiful buildings The modern era saw Paris planning its urban center and signaling its potential with structures that symbolized technological innovation—not least of them the world-famous Eiffel Tower Manhattan’s skyline of soaring skyscrapers is an image that captivates many to this day In some cases, landmark structures have single-handedly revived a city on the wane Designed by architect Frank Gehry and opened in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, helped turn around the city’s declining fortunes, transforming it almost overnight into a world cultural center After the defunct coal mines of Essen—Germany’s largest— were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, a master plan devised by Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas helped transform Zollverein in Germany into a cultural city with a rich new cultural infrastructure Dubai has used bold structures by star architects to move toward its yet K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Prologue Bukchon Hanok Village Sunset over Yeouido district and Hangang River unrealized dream of building a man-made paradise on Earth Buildings In the past, Korean architects were somewhat limited by their passive both represent a city and speak to a society’s cultural potential acceptance of the Western ideas of modernism and postmodernism, but Like so many other areas of art, Korean architecture has changed rapidly today, they are transcending those limits as they experiment and try new in the modern era Traditionally, its buildings have been structures of things in response to Korea’s dynamic society and the complex issues it stone and wood, but this style would end up clashing with the Western faces The very emergence of architects who express inherently Korean approach as the country went through occupation by Japan and eventual sentiments in their own original styles, who accept the extremes of Korean liberation from the colonial yoke These were turbulent times that left contemplativeness and modernist sensibilities, is helping the country find Korean architecture facing both a break with the past and an onslaught of a place that is both universal and sui generis in world architecture new trends from the West The discovery of an architectural identity has become something of an ongoing project This book offers an exploration of the lesser-known aspects of this dynamically changing field, starting with a look at the paradigmatic forms The idea that the things most Korean are also the most global was of traditional architecture before moving on to examining the issues and something that applied as much in architecture as it did in other cultural currents that have unfolded in architecture as it developed on Korean soil spheres Indeed, it would be some time before Korean architecture broke in the era of postmodernism—and began to find its way into the world from its fixation with “Koreanness” and achieved a sense of universality By taking a historical approach with the more noteworthy developments through the work of individual architects In a field perhaps relegated in Korean architecture, it seeks to support a new understanding, a to the periphery of a Western-dominated architectural world, it was a rediscovery, of a field in full flux slow process of discovering its confidence and revealing its capability 10 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Prologue 11 Dynamic cityscape of Gangnam, Seoul Chapter One bustling Cities, Rising Architecture The Pritzker Prize, often called the “Nobel Prize of Architecture,” has been shifting its focus to Asia recently It has been a move beyond the limits of Western-centered discourse, turning the emphasis back on original architecture with a local focus If we ignore the case of Japanese architects, who have been keen to adopt modern styles and work on the global stage for a long time, then a prominent example of this was the recent win by Chinese architect Wang Shu Wang has been forging a distinctive Chinese identity into something universally modern, working with traditional materials like tile and stone while adamantly adhering to China’s traditional methods of construction Wang had been a relatively lesser known figure internationally when the German Architecture Museum (DAM) first introduced his work in Europe Similarly, it was DAM’s 2007 group exhibition Megacity Network: Contemporary Korean Architecture that served to really draw attention to the as yet undiscovered architecture and architects of Korea 12 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Bustling Cities, Rising Architecture 13 Rediscovering Korean Architecture Arguably the country’s first ever group exhibition overseas, Megacity Network: Contemporary Korean Architecture was held in December 2007 at the DAM By the time it finished its tour, it had visited various locations throughout Europe, earning invitations from the German Architectural Centre (DAZ) in Berlin, the Museum of Estonian Architecture, and the Association of Catalan Architects in Barcelona The 16 participating architects, all active presences in Korea and abroad, offered an eclectic mix of perspectives and interpretations on the cities we live in, showcasing works in Korea’s traditional hanok style alongside skyscrapers, churches, libraries, residential/commercial complexes, and public structures The beginning of the exhibition can be traced back to a forum on Eastern and Western public spaces at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair It was there that DAM director Peter Schmal first encountered the modern Korean The Megacity Network: Contemporary Korean Architecture held at the German Architectural Centre (DAZ), Berlin, in 2008 Photo Courtesy of DAZ architecture that would lead to him to propose an exhibition The European viewers, who had seen little of the country’s architectural work in the past, said that the exhibition was “fresh,” “dynamic,” and “full of potential.” Highrise Award with his design for Boutique Monaco in Seoul’s Seocho-gu Korean architecture and its designers have made their way into the “If Japanese architecture is the same old thing and Chinese architecture pages of global architecture journals like DOMUS, MARK, and Architectural gives the sense that it’s still in a process of growth, then Korean Review, while the architects have been making names for themselves at architecture is bold and innovative,” said Kim Sung-hong, the University overseas awards DOMUS focused on Moon Hoon in its March edition of Seoul professor who planned the exhibition “Seoul isn’t a relaxed, of 2012, then followed this up by spotlighting Cho in the July edition leisurely, clean city You get the sense that there are a lot of things that same year A winner of New York’s Young Architects Award, Cho has that need work, and it’s the designs that emerged from this dynamic also been the focus of pieces in MARK and other international journals environment that have already achieved world-class quality in terms of Another architect, Cho Byoung-soo, was one of 11 world architects their creativity and excellence.” selected in 2004 by the U.S journal Architectural Record He too has won One of the participating architects, Cho Minsuk, was selected as one of his share of accolades, including top honors for the Northwest and Pacific the five finalists for the German Architecture Museum’s 2008 International region from the American Institute of Architects In 2005, he was one of 14 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Bustling Cities, Rising Architecture 15 Taking the Global Stage The last century was not an easy one for the field Western techniques first came into the country when it was forced open by the U.S., then occupied by Japan Traditional styles were crowded out by more modern ones in the postwar reconstruction years, when the demand was high and urbanization was moving ahead at full bore The introduction of Western architecture has not been easy either Architects struggled to learn the new techniques and structures in the years following the country’s 1945 liberation from Japanese rule In conceptual terms, Western modernism was adopted Articles about Korean architects Cho Minsuk and Moon Hoon appeared in the April-May 2010 issue of the Italian architecture magazine MARK (top) and the March 2012 issue of Dutch magazine DOMUS (bottom), respectively without fully processing what the style actually meant It was not until the late 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century that Korean architecture really began to diversify A new generation of architects returned home after experiencing global currents first hand through overseas study—something they could only after travel restrictions were lifted in 1987 Having gotten a taste of postmodernism, 100 architects selected for 10 x 10, a volume published every four years by late modernism, and deconstructionism in the West, they pondered Britain’s Phaidon Press Three years later in 2008, Cho Minsuk’s design for how to develop architecture to keep up with the Korean context In an the Ann Demeulemeester store in Seoul’s Sinsa district turned up in the environment where the high-rise apartment was the residential norm, next edition Architectural Review, considered Britain’s top architecture these young architects began experimenting and showing off their journal, took an in-depth look at projects by Jang Yoon-gyoo and by Cho architectural lexicon They certainly had learned from the West, but Byoung-soo, whose L-House in Hwaseong earned “highly commended” they did not simply transplant their lessons onto Korean soil Instead, honors at House 2013 Further evidence of Korea’s great potential can be they wrestled with the idea of “Koreanness” while producing work that found in the U.S architectural association honors won by U.S.-licensed showcased their originality Today, many of them are among the country’s architects like Choi DuNam, Ken Min Sungjin, and Woo Kyu Sung All of leading architects, with work that continues to impress these are significant achievements, evidence that the world is taking note In some cases, architects have taken a more positive view of the Korean and discovering Korean architecture after its many years languishing in the urban environment, analyzing it and coming up with interesting new shadow of China and Japan themes The Venice Architecture Biennale has traditionally been a place 16 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Bustling Cities, Rising Architecture 17 Skyscrapers like Boutique Monaco: Bundle Matrix, Nature Poem: Skipped Matrix, and S-Trenue: Bundle Matrix are drawing attention as attempts to inject a bit of irregularity into Korea’s monotonous urban environments They leave empty or disjointed spaces between floors; in some cases, the building’s seams are opened up to create gardens, bridges, and other leisure spaces These are the works of Cho Minsuk, an architecture who has forced one of the major dividing lines between his generation and the one that came before After studying in New York, Cho broadened his experience with different projects around the world Where his predecessors had been focused on learning and appropriating the trends of global architecture, he is someone who actually worked on the ground with his international Daum Space.1 on Jejudo Island, which was built to be the company headquarters of Daum Communications © Kyungsub Shin contemporaries Upon his r e t u r n t o Ko r e a , h e b e g a n to ideas about “Korean sentiments” or “tradition.” Bold works like Dalki presenting work that highlighted Theme Park: I Like Dalki, the aforementioned Boutique Monaco, the Ann and trenchantly dissected the Demeulemeester Shop in Seoul, and the Daum Space.1 building have dynamism of Korean society and drawn major attention on the pages of such noted overseas journals as cities He has responded keenly DOMUS and MARK to present-day Korea without This latest generation of prominent architects has formed a strong letting himself become shackled backbone for the field, adding to the qualitative richness of Korean architecture and the diversity of architectural culture S-Trenue: Bundle Matrix in Seoul’s Yeouido district © Kim Yong-kwan 104 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Korean Modernism and Its Legacies 105 14 Whanki Museum Whanki Museum is dedicated to the work of painter Kim Whanki, one of Korea’s first generation abstract artists It offers a mixture of both modern and traditional aesthetics—the former in the rectangular steel roof with rounded edges, the latter in a stone wall reminiscent of the rear garden at Gyeongbokgung Palace A Guide to Seoul’s Best Architecture Gyeongbokgung Palace (see p40) Changdeokgung Palace (see p64) Deoksugung Palace (see p46) Jongmyo Shrine (see p67) Old Seoul National University Campus (see p51) SPACE Group Building (see p92) French Embassy in Korea (see p90) Kyungdong Presbyterian Church (see p93) Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine (see p88) 10 Seonyudo Park (see p122) 11 Urban Hive (see p123) 12 Boutique Monaco (see p123) 14 13 15 16 10 11 12 13 Bukchon Hanok Village Painstakingly preserved example of the old hanok cityscape, just paces away from the skyscrapers of downtown Seoul In the past, its position near the royal palace meant that it was primarily home to powerful aristocrats and government officials Today, it is occupied by around 900 traditional hanok buildings, which remain very much inhabited 106 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity 15 Ssamziegil This intriguingly structured shopping mall is located in Seoul’s Insa-dong neighborhood, a top tourist draw The use of the word “gil,” or road, in the building’s name reflects the fact that the entire structure—a four-story complex encircling a diamondshaped courtyard—is linked into one road 16 Ewha Campus Complex (ECC) Originality goes underground with this design by world-renowned architect Dominique Perrault, boasting 66,000 m2 of floor space Perrault’s artificial valley extends from the road outside the campus through the university gate, offering a pedestrian walkway, plaza, and park all in one Korean Modernism and Its Legacies 107 Chapter Five Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments Beyond the “City of Rooms” The Korea pavilion at the 2004 Venice Architecture Biennale was a house of rooms Titled City of Bang (after the Korean word for “room”), the exhibition drew international notice with its clever analysis of Korea’s “room culture,” spotlighting the proliferation of businesses billing themselves to the public as “rooms”: singing rooms, steam rooms, video rooms, play rooms, drinking rooms The room-filled landscape was monotonous, lacking any of the layers of the city The exhibition examined a society of urbanization and the culture of high-rise apartment buildings, where urban spaces were simply and unsparingly used according to the need City of Bang was later listed as one of the Biennale’s five most noteworthy exhibitions As the 2000s dawned, Korean architecture was beginning to extend its scope beyond single structures and into city spaces Architects began 108 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Boutique Monaco: Missing Matrix in Gangnam Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 109 © Kim Yong-kwan Pedestrian facilities with a bus stop, elevator and elevated café on Hannamdaegyo Bridge © Yun Suyeon Renovated Cheonggyecheon Stream imposing themselves on the fissures in these unplanned, uncertain cities, it became less a part of people’s lives Eventually, things reached the point and worked to create richer landscapes Policies were implemented to where those hoping to visit the river had to travel through tiny concrete create more pedestrian-friendly cities Plans were created to rework the tunnels underneath the highways Seeking to improve the situation, the areas surrounding major cultural attractions like Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung city has since 2007 enlisted the young architects of renovation One of and Changdeokgung palaces, which had hitherto been disconnected from them, Hwang Doojin, designed a structure that not only connected the their urban environments Plaza design was another focus, particularly river’s bridges and the riverside with staircases and elevators but also with the squares in front of Seoul City Hall and at the centrally located integrated them with a café This new infrastructure helped to once again Gwanghwamun Gate Architects began coming up with public designs that turn the river bisecting the city into a popular attraction reconfigured these fragmented city settings Another example of rediscovering a waterway in the city center came Another set of efforts focused on the neglected public spaces alongside with the restoration of Cheonggyecheon Stream Once, the stream the Hangang River in Seoul This was the “Hangang River Renaissance,” had been called the “sewer of Seoul.” Like the Hangang River, it had part of which involved making the river more accessible to pedestrians been buried in the 1970s and paved over with an elevated roadway In through improvements in interchanges and bridges Its sandy banks had 2003, amid growing demand for its restoration, the Seoul Metropolitan once been a popular site for people fleeing the city’s heat, but frequent Government decided to turn the project into one of its signature efforts flooding had caused serious problems In the 1970s, they were covered in The actual restoration took only a short time, and critics said the result was concrete in the name of water management Expressways and high-rise more of an artificial waterway than a true recovery of the buried stream apartment blocks erected alongside the river further impeded access, and But the change in the urban environment as the highway was removed 110 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 111 and the waterway arose in the city center was nothing short of dramatic, to revive the forms of the traditional Korean residence in a more modern and the people who experienced it came away with a new perspective A context The result summons memories of the urban hanok structures focus on development and convenience had been abandoned in favor of found in Seoul’s historic Gahoe-dong Kim Hun’s residence, named an experience with emptiness and nature in the city environment Serendipity, may seem insular from the outside, but the interior adds a sense of tension to the diurnal with a three-dimensionality generated by A New Housing Culture between the Beehives High-rise apartment blocks are a defining part of Korean residential culture As a part of modern architecture, such blocks were conceived as a high-density mode of living, a way of improving the workers’ residential environment As Korea’s population density increased during the 1960s and the 1970s, apartments became commonplace, becoming the single most popular and representative form of living environment By the 1980s, some a bold use of diagonals At the time it was built, this structure drew major attention for the unusual quality of its shape and spaces An L-shaped residence by Cho Byoung Soo makes use of arrangements characteristic of traditional Korean architecture, while Kim Hyo Man’s Limgeodang building uses “skip floors” (offset half-stories) to create a three-dimensional quality in its interior, which is naturally linked to the exterior and given an interactive quality with various courtyards new alternatives were being introduced among the submissions for the athletes’ and journalists’ villages at the 1986 Asian Games Houses in Ilsan built by Kim Hun (left, photo courtesy of Studio Asylum) and Kim Seung-hoy (right, © Kang Il-min) and the 1988 Olympics But large-scale blocks remained the norm, and as construction companies pushed to build big, the apartments evolved into a residential product that was less about diversity and more about optimal convenience and rationality Architects were relegated to a small handful of standalone houses With their emphasis on diversity, quality of life, and design, they worked to carve out an ever larger niche in the residential culture Built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the residential complexes of the satellite city of Ilsan became a test bed for young architects returning home from their studies overseas Kim Seung-hoy designed a residence connecting two structures shaped like semicircular bolts, an attempt 112 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 113 Yang Soo-in, Sosoljip is an attempt at a “net zero energy” house, a solution to the use of energy for power, water heating, and ventilation Occupying a stunning location in Namhae, the house is designed to keep fossil fuel use to a minimum while harmonizing with the surrounding environment Another architect, Left: Yongin Residence © Park Wan-soon Right: Sosoljip Bottom: The hallway in NBS71510 © Kyungsub Shin Chung Hyuna, aims to design simply built houses that fully integrate spatial order and expression with structural methods and materials This is especially true for Yongin Residence which integrates its interior and exterior while retaining an open courtyard NBS71510, an The Ilsan residential complexes offered a range of takes on Korean residential culture, each boasting its urban residential unit designed by the OBBA, creates a practical yet striking public space in a public housing unit designed for affordable living own modern architectural grammar Evolution of Korean Modernism Toward the later part of the decade, By the 2000s, the focus of discourse was less on “Koreanness” and more the new complexes of Pangyo began on an evolved form of Korean modernism, as architects came to focus taking on the same role Today, the more on the architectural artistry and identity of individual buildings next generation of thirty- and forty- Cho Byoung Soo has been recognized for linking modernism with something architects can be found Eastern ways of thinking His most famous works, including the Camerata experimenting actively with new Music Studio, Concrete Box House, and Earth House, exemplify his approaches This is especially visible architectural interests over the years All three begin from a restrained box- in the diversity of structures and like frame In the case of Camerata, the interior of the simple box uses only materials, including brick, concrete, minimal materials—concrete, wood, and glass The changing light of day and copper plating produces an inner space that is rich and powerful This is a characteristic of There are also different attempts Cho’s work: extreme restraint of shape, coarse yet somehow sophisticated to vary the spaces where individuals mass that introduces an experience of nature’s different qualities within go about their lives Designed by He is especially keen to exploit the qualities of his materials, involving 114 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 115 himself deeply in details and construction like a true artisan At the Concrete Box House, a large square has been removed from the middle of a 30 cm-thick roof without parapets The structure was the result of a long process of experimentation and research The thin sheet roof is irregularly supported by wood from old hanok structures; the interior is open to the sky, creating a building as backdrop for experiencing wind and sun, rain and snow, heat and cold Next door to the Concrete Box House is the Earth House As its name suggests, it is built as an open-roofed box that digs naturally into the earth For this structure, Cho adopted the techniques of traditional mud huts The architecture of Cho Byoung Soo retains a modernist sensibility without sacrificing the characteristics of Korea’s spaces Today, it continues gaining international recognition as an example of work that possesses both a Korean feel and universal appeal Cho himself has won many awards overseas and was introduced in the U.S journal dwell in 2005 as one of three distinctive contemporary designers The late Korean-Japanese architect Itami Jun was a man between countries during his lifetime Ironically, he is today seen as one of the most powerful examples of a “modern Korean architect.” He is best remembered for a series of works on the island of Jejudo, including the Podo Hotel, the Water, Wind, Stone art museum series, and the Bangju Church (“Church of Sky”) His work with the art museum series in particular shows architecture that responds to nature: the Water museum with its simple concrete squares and circles filled with placid water, the Wind museum with thin wooden boards that allow breezes to pass between them, and the Stone museum, finished with Cor-ten steel, where rays of sunlight break through to create a space that changes with the 116 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Camerata Music Studio Concrete Box House © Kim Jongoh Earth House © Kim Yong-kwan The Wind, Water and Stone art museums © Kim Yong-kwan rhythm of the day They are attempts to convey the essential emotions both indigenous materials and construction methods, and the result is a of architecture through unpolished beauty, abstraction, solemnity and successful example of modernizing the local The radio station, situated in tranquility In this sense, Jejudo—with its beautiful scenery coupled with a Himalayan corner, also produces a modern space using local materials an often harsh environment and distinctively powerful terrain—may be the and methods, unaided by construction equipment Cases like these best showcase for Itami’s work In his search for purity of form, he rooted exemplify the way Korean architects venture beyond their borders and himself in the land’s tradition while striving to distill the currents of its summon local color and identity in the broader world culture, dedicating himself to the pursuit of a tenacious artistic sensibility and free-spirited zeitgeist “Modern Korea,” one critic called it, saying, “His architecture itself is modern art, using indigenous materials to achieve Khmeresque, Won-Buddhist temple in Cambodia © Park Youngchae abstract beauty.” Itami eventually received a Chevalier medal from the French government for a lifetime of achievements in Korean modernism Meanwhile, the Korean architect Kim In-cheurl was busy overseas with designing a Won-Buddhist temple, called Khmeresque, in Battambang, Cambodia, and a radio station for MBC in Jomsom, Nepal Both were examples of making full use of local geography, part of a more general movement of Asian architects building in other Asian countries In the Cambodian case, Kim achieved both artistry and more practical ventilation goals by revealing cross sections of the perforated bricks (the most suitable kind for the local climate) His goal had been to use 118 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 119 Landscape Architecture and the Transforming Cityscape A 1996 design competition to honor the 100th anniversary of Seoul’s Myeongdong Cathedral ended up by suggesting a striking new plan for the cityscape The concept involved breaking down the boundaries between the building and the land surrounding it, creating a relationship between the two where the city terrain was part of the building and the building part of the urban landscape Its creator was Kim Jong-kyu, someone had already forged his own style with a “landscape architecture” approach at Britain’s AA School in the late 1980s The roots of this were “an inborn affinity for the land that he brought with him from Korea.” The competition was eventually abandoned, but Kim’s design helped launch the concept of landscape architecture in Korea Increasingly, architecture has been focusing not only Welcome City © Osamu Murai on individual structures, but also on their organic connection with cityscape Welcome City, a design by Seung H-Sang, is an example of architecture and land The movement started at a time when the idea of landscape being actively incorporated into a cityscape Situated by the roadside, the architecture was only just emerging around the world large building is divided into four large blocks to prevent it from obscuring the sightline of the residential area behind The result is a structure that Kim Jong-kyu’s submission to a design competition marking the centennial anniversary of Myeong-dong Cathedral Photo courtesy of M.A.R.U both shapes the landscape and facilitates visual interaction It is not so much a free-standing object as an active participant in its own landscape— suggesting in the process the possibilities of a better environment At its base is a bulky concrete stylobate; above are four blocks finished in Corten steel, the spaces between them lending themselves naturally to use as outdoor lounges Simple and clean-cut though it may appear on the outside, the interior boasts an eclectic mixture of lines of movement Some projects provide more active examples of landscaping and architecture that focuse on using the land When the water purification center on Seonyudo Island in the Hangang River outlived its usefulness in 120 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 121 Top: Urban Hive © Park Youngchae Bottom: Boutique Monaco: Missing Matrix © Kim Yong-kwan Completed in 2008, Cho Minsuk’s Boutique Monaco: Missing Matrix is another break with the traditional tower and its paramount emphasis on floor area and building-to-land ratios In this towering structure, the excess floor area is offset with empty spaces burrowed throughout the Seonyudo Park building Designed for commercial the early 2000s, a plan was set to rid it of its vestiges of industrial use and and residential use, it boasts a variety turn it into a park But the creators of the winning entry, Jeong Yeong-seon of parks and bridges embedded in and Joh Sung-yong, opted not to remove the old facilities Rather, they these spaces Inside the building, an redesigned the land to incorporate the remains Today, Seonyudo Park is eclectic mixture of 49 different types beloved by Seoul citizens for its scenic beauty of units is in place of the one-size- Towers have also been used to transform cityscapes Pinnacles of fits-all “domino system.” Cho has efficiency and rationality, these uniformly surfaced structures create continued his “mass matrix studies” skylines, but also bear much of the blame for their monotony Seoul’s over the years, injecting space into Gangnam district is a veritable forest of skyscrapers, creating a kind of “gray the monotony of the domino system city” with their curtain walls and identical faỗades Kim In-cheurls Urban with new tower concepts like Nature Hive suggests a new concept for the tower Nicknamed “the Clacker” for its Poem: Skipped Matrix, GWell Tower: circle pattern, it has an exterior that is both a regularly patterned structure Eroded Matrix, and S-Trenue: Bundle and a window to the outside The interior is finished with glass, giving Matrix Where efficiency was once the structure depth with its double skin It is unique and bold experiment priority one, these are new structures with form, material, and structure, and the contrast with the surrounding that actively respond to the Korean Gangnam curtain walls could not be clearer cityscape 122 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 123 Reinterpretation of Hanok The modern era brought rapid urbanization to Korea, and with it a rise in population density The traditional hanok building became part of this urbanization trend In urban hanok neighborhoods, smaller “C”-shaped and square-shaped models with central courtyards began to appear, many of them occupying small parcels of larger plots where they butted up against their neighbors But these urban hanok buildings failed to establish a market in their productivity or technology Increasingly they were shunted to the periphery of Korean architecture For a while, architects had neither the leisure nor the inclination to work in the hanok style But Clubhouse at the Lake Hills Suncheon Country Club in the early 21st century, the situation began to change Architects began experimenting with new ways of configuring the structures Cho Jung-goo, designer of the hanok hotel Ragung, has tried to standardize and commercialize the style’s frame material This is part of © Kim Yong-kwan to deal with the hurdles of high material and construction costs He has also made various attempts to combine the hanok style with modern architecture a strategy to enable mass production that would lower material prices Cho Nam-ho makes active use of Western-style wood structures His and help boost the hanok’s popular appeal Some difficulties remain: as design for the Guest House of Kyowon Group Training Center, built in the frame lengths became shorter, the kan—the space between pillars— 2000, was an example of him experimenting with new possibilities for became somewhat small But Cho’s work is very significant as an attempt wooden buildings using a light-frame construction method called the Hanok hotel Ragung in Gyeongju “2 x technique.” He also made active use of hanok-style wood frames with modern materials like copper plating in his Gangchon Training Center design at the University of Seoul Cho’s experiments with the inherent structural aesthetic of wood have not been confined to hanok buildings Even now, he continues working to expand the range of possibilities for building in wood An accurate study of the wood timber structure lays the groundwork for understanding the space of Korean traditional architecture like hanok, and interpreting under a modern perspective The clubhouse of Lake 124 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 125 Gahoeheon, a hanok in Gahoe-dong designed by Hwang Doojin (top); Fazio House at the Phoenix Springs Country Club (left); Tongin Market Art Gate (right) © Park Youngchae Hills Suncheon Country Club is an excellent example of a reinterpretation of hanok The client asked, “What is the essential quality of Korean traditional architecture and its structure,” and architect Ken Min Sungjin did formal and structural experimentation instead of directly mimicking the traditional style The intended design to express the curve of the hanok’s eave is made into an inverted arch-shaped structure As a result, not only is the clubhouse able to have a long-spanned, large open space but also displays an excellent example in reinterpreting lines and shapes of traditional architecture in a modern way The architect who truly began the reinterpretation vogue was Hwang Doojin Hwang designed a number of buildings in the hanok village of Gahoe-dong in Seoul, an experience that saw him analyzing the system of wooden structures and reconstructing them in spatial terms While his earlier work was mainly about improving on the spatial limitations of the old hanok, eventually he began to experiment with more modern materials and methods in the hanok system For the hanok banquet hall of the Phoenix Springs Country Club in Icheon, named Fazio House, he developed a model with a glass roof above a wooden frame; for the Tongin Market Art Gate, he attempted a lighter structure using steel and glass Seeing hanok as a system rather than a simple tradition, Hwang has focused on building it into a new kind of space, demonstrating further possibilities for the evolution of the form Based on this, Hwang continued to design contemporary buildings that still retain the essence of hanok like Castle of Skywalkers A new tradition is taking shape: instead of simply echoing the traditions of Korean architecture, architects are analyzing it, breaking it down, experimenting with building a new system It is an evolution for modern and traditional methods alike—and an example of a style that is uniquely Korean 126 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 127 Peter Bartholomew: A Passion for Hanok Hanok preservationist Peter Bartholomew came to Korea with the U.S Peace Corps in 1968, bringing with him his love for historic architecture “From primary school, I had an avid interest in old buildings,” he says “They were made by hand and had a style to them, and that style represented the period they were built.” Naturally enough, this interest transferred to Korean architecture after he came to Korea “Like everywhere in the world, [Korean architecture] speaks of its region, of its climate, of its people, of its economy, of its society, of family, of personal relationships, of art,” he says “Everything you can read through architecture.” While Bartholomew has a keen interest in all forms of Korean traditional architecture, he’s particularly known for his enthusiasm for hanok “First and foremost, it’s a very human building,” he says “The materials are all natural, as in the case of all pre-modern architecture Wood, stone, clay, roof tiles and paper So everything is very human.” He also lauds the execution of its woodwork, resulting in a space where everything is in perfect balance “There’s no length, width, depth or height that is too long, wide, deep or high in proportion to the others around it Everything is in beautiful and perfect balance.” The same goes for finishing of the wood “Grooving the wood in a very discrete, not garish way, is absolutely exquisite in terms of style as well as in execution.” He reserves particular praise for the artistic elements of hanok “For example, in the sliding doors of very fine houses, the latticework on the doors is the development of a Chinese character, which has a philosophical and poetic meaning behind it,” he says “It usually represents the atmosphere or environment the owner wants in the home.” Throughout hanok you’ll also find placards built into the architecture with Chinese characters, some representing a desired atmosphere, and others simply lofty ideals 128 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Rakkojae, hanok boutique hotel in Gahoe-dong, Seoul “Everywhere you look, there is artisan work, there is art work, there is balance and harmony from one section of the building to the next.” Not simply artistic, hanok is also a piece of scientific engineering “The sunlight pours into the building in the cold weather, and stops coming into the building in the summertime when the sun is high,” he explains “The way the air moves through the building is cooling in the summer The heating system under the floor is unique Similar things exist, but nothing to the extent that Korea has done it where every centimeter of the house is heated by a wood fire you have to light only once every one to two days.” The merging of art and science produces a house that is quite extraordinary Pushing the Envelope: New Ideas and Experiments 129 APPENDIX Further Reading Books on K-Architecture Websites on K-Architecture Iwatate, Marcia et al (2006) Korea Style Tuttle Publishing Korean Institute of Architects www.kia.or.kr Jackson, Ben (2012) Korean Architecture: Breathing with Nature Seoul Selection Korea Architects Institute www.kai2002.org SPACE Magazine www.vmspace.com Jung, Inha (2013) Architecture and Urbanism in Modern Korea University of Hawaii Press Kim, Bongryol (2007) The Secret Spirit of Korean Architecture Saffron Books Kim, Dong-uk (2006) Palaces of Korea Hollym International Corporation Kim, Sunghong and Schmal, Peter (Eds.) (2008) Contemporary Korean Architecture: Megacity Network Jovis Kim, Sunghong et al (2012) New Horizon in Korean Architecture Usd Korean Institute of Trad'l Landscape Arc (2008) Korean Traditional Landscape Architecture Hollym International Corporation Lee, Sang-hae (2005) Seowon: The Architecture of Korea's Private Academies Hollym International Corporation Yim, Seok-jae (2011) City as Art: 100 Notable Works of Architecture in Seoul Hollym International Corporation 130 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity Further Reading 131 About the Author Lim Jinyoung Lim completed her bachelor’s and master’s in architecture at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul Having headed the editorial team for SPACE magazine, she is now a freelance writer, submitting pieces on Korean architecture to publications in and out of Korea, such as MARK and AR Asian Pacific Lim planned and edited Faster and Bigger , a collection of architecture essays; supervised the +architect series, editing monographs in the series for Mass Studies, Cho Byoung Soo, Woo Kyu Sung, and Yoo Kerl She has also edited monographs of global architects such as HHF Architects of Switzerland and 3XN of Denmark Ryoo Seong Lyong A traditional architecture professor at Keimyung University, Ryoo earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate at Korea University He completed an academic report for restoring Sungnyemun Gate, and helped build a modern hanok in Dorae Hanok Village in Naju as part of a civic cultural legacy project for the National Trust Ryoo won a prize for academic writing from the Architectural Institute of Korea, and jointly authored Dictionary of Concepts in Korean Architecture (2013) and Architectural Guidebook to Seoul (2013) Credits Planner Writer Translator Korean Culture and Information Service Lim Jinyoung, Ryoo Seong Lyong Colin Mouat, Ben Jackson Edited & Designed by Seoul Selection Photographs Front cover Daum Space.1 © Kyungsub Shin, Gyeonghuigung Palace © Robert Koehler Back cover The former library at Konkuk University © Robert Koehler Korea Tourism Organization 28, 29, 34, 36, 39, 45, 59, 60, 69, 72, 74, 75, 80, 82, 83, 85 Robert Koehler 4, 10, 12, 18, 26, 31, 38, 42, 47, 49, 54, 55, 62, 65, 67, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 86, 88, 90, 91, 93, 106, 107, 111 Ryu Seung-hoo 8, 96, 97, 122, 107, 122, 129 Yonhap Photp 20, 24, 25, 28, 37, 50, 52, 85, 124 Image Today 30, 32, 44, 53, 56, 62, 72, 84, 85 ... buildings of lower status, 44 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity The main hall at the Jongmyo shrine is an example of the ikgong style The History of Korean Architecture 45 East Meets West; Tradition. .. pronounced and deeply entrenched matbae (gable) roof 36 K- Architecture: Tradition Meets Modernity ujingak (hipped) roof paljak (hip-and-gable) roof The History of Korean Architecture 37 Muryangsujeon... size of rooms, form of staircases, type of roof tiles and roof decorations, form of wooden brackets, ceiling appearance, right to use decorative dancheong painting (red and 52 K- Architecture: Tradition