Índice para September 2017 em Space

What if you could look inside a building you always wanted to see inside simply by putting on a pair of glasses? The unimaginable comes true in the exhibition ‘Virtual Reality Art X’ in the 17th Seoul International NewMedia Festival (NeMaf). There is an architectural model in the gallery. When you are in front of this curious building, which combines a Gothic cathedral with modern architecture, you are given a pair of glasses. When you wear the glasses you gain access to the inside of the building, and can observe its interior from the full 360 degrees. You can see every corner of the building, and the lights radiate through the windows. It is a rare scene for architectural professionals who are passionate about the potential of field investigation and…

At the end of July, the news that artificial intelligence had created its own language and took leave of humans at Facebook AI Research Lab was spread on social networks and made a great flutter. It was a simple occurrence during the research phase, but it reveals our fears and anxiety concerning the possibility that the machine could encroach our on future soon. Nam June Paik noted in 1965 in the manifestos for ‘Cybernated Art’ that ‘some specific frustrations caused by cybernated life, require only through accordingly cybernated shock and catharsis.’ By this he means that, a remedy for the frustration of smart life is smart technology. Then, we should now throw out a question concerning what kind of position we should take: should we stop here feeling shock and…

In the middle of Yeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, is a triangular village cut off from its surrounding and circled by three railways. This worn down village mostly inhabited by low income senior citizens has undergone a makeover owing to an environment design improvement project, cleaning up the village’s living environment and creating a fountain square and park in the village. Additionally, the village has sought to become a hub for communication and interaction in Yeongju, with new pathways and a tunnel connecting to the green pedestrian path of the village’s east-west axis. The Senior Center that faces the central square of the village is not just a place hosting daily activities for the elderly, but a place that provides leisure and rest for all citizens who visit. Today we are faced…

Sinnonhyeon Station junction, which is where the VIEW CLINIC building is located, is a buzzing place in which many commercial facilities have gathered in the recent development boom. The client purchased two plots that stretch south to north and devised a building that accommodated a medical facility that he operates alongside neighbourhood partially-public facilities. Such projects tend to think more about profit-making rather than the public features or design potential of the buildings, and the client was persuaded to allow a plan that would consider the street environment and design via community discussions. The site is located on a corner that has two one-way streets on the southern and western sides, and consists of two plots with different registered usages. Especially, the western road, is slopes at a steep angle…

Architect: AUM&LEE Architects&Associates (Yi Gwanpyo, Lee Min) Design team: Ye Jongkyung , Lee Beomsun, Kim Sunduck, Kim Jonghyun, Yang Seungtae, Lee Eunmi, Yoo Jehyuk, Kim Sukhee Location: 50, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemungu, Seoul, Korea Programme: educational research facility Site area: 859,425.8m2 Building area: 6,258.27m2 Gross floor area: 17,252.77m2 Building scope: B1, 10F Height: 39.45m Building to land ratio: 0.73% Floor area ratio: 4.5% Structure: steel frame + RC Exterior finishing: THK25 granite stone, THK24 low-E pair glass Interior finishing: birch panel, paint Structural engineer: Tsec Group Construction: Doosan Construction Co., Ltd. Mechanical engineer: Woowon MNE Electrical engineer: D2 Engineering Co., Ltd. Design period: Nov. 2012 — Aug. 2015 Construction period: July 2015 — Feb. 2017 Construction budget: 24.3 billion KRW Client: Yonsei University Connecting of the Horizontal and Vertical To answer for…

The Skulptur Projekte Münster takes place for the fifth time in summer of 2017. Since it was founded in 1977, it has been held every ten years, which is the longest cycle of the most important international art exhibitions. The long interval seems to correspond with the slow breath of a city that gradually changes. Without special themes or curatorial directions, artists are invited to Münster to develop their proposals for interventions in the urban space in the broad terms of the relationship between sculpture and public space. As the chief curator, Kasper König has kept this rule since the first show, and the artistic works shown in the Skulptur Projekte can refocus attention on the concrete spaces of the city. Most visitors to the Skulptur Projekte begin their artistic…

The exhibition galleries in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Gwacheon branch extend into a square. Wide corridors are stretch into the same shape as the MMCA Gwacheon branch. The corridors that reach the third floor at the end of the space are perfect for visitors to traverse while looking at the art works exhibited on the walls. When a huge installation art piece is on the first floor, these corridors, practically a ramp toward the top floor, also make it possible for visitors to see the art pieces from various angles and heights. Those corridors, which have been used for various purposes, have now become a rest area for visitors. MMCA refers to this new project as the ‘Transformation into a Living Room’. The Moving Room…

Donghyun Son’s Solo Exhibition titled ‘Jasmin Dragon Phoenix Pearl’ opened on July 28 at SongEun ArtSpace. He won the 15th SongEun Art Award for his portrait series titled Six Chivalrous Fighters which portrayed six warriors following ‘the Six Principles of Xie He.’ Xie He, the painter of the Northern and Southern Dynasties Era of China, presented 6 essential principles of creating and appreciating art. Donghyun Son has attracted great attention since he reproduced characters from Hollywood movies and animation series through traditional oriental painting techniques in his work titled Pop Icon. Recently, he has sought change in his career since his solo exhibitions, ‘Pine Tree’ and ‘Ink on Paper’. He has decided to focus on figure painting that features a particular human figure, who is not a typical, cliche figure,…

The UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress (UIA 2017) which will start on Sep. 3 will offer various programs for students and young architects. The UIA 2017 consists of projects completed before the event, completed work through competitions, and other research presentations, forums, and performances. Architecture majors of 15 universities that have participated in the Seoul International Studio had shared ideas through social media and digital platforms from last February to May with the topic ‘recovering the city with culture’ and received feedback and mentoring from professional architects. The products of the program will be displayed during the World Congress. A related program will also be held at the COEX conference room on Sep. 5. The UIA 2017 Seoul Summer School, which started from Aug. 21 involves 40 university students…

VOID architects (Zhang Kiuk, Lee Kusang) here presents four new projects, including the Yeongju Senior Center, the Guro Youth Cultural Center, Paju Culture Books, and VEW CLINIC. Their past work collectively reveals a focus on interpreting a site and resolving problems rather than expressing a singular architectural language. VOID architects new projects also share this ethos. The architects discovered appropriate means of highlighting the values of each site and at times introducing new forms to these values. In the process, common spaces that promote local life are created, from the everyday enjoyment of company and food with others on the street-side benches, to the spaces that rejuvenate a weary village. What traits should a common space have in order for everybody to appreciate it? This month’s Frame explores the ways…

The Guro Youth Cultural Center located in Sugoong-dong, Guro-gu is a cultural centre created through the interaction between youngsters and a space that offers free activities and supports healing through sentimental empathy and communication. The main programmes are comprised around a cultural space to include club rooms, a band music room, a programme room, and a performance hall, as well as a counseling centre and book café for youth counseling and education. The site has a sound barrier fence that blocks a two-lane road to the south and at the corner close to an entry road that leads into a dense concentration of row houses and multi-residential houses. The plan required preservation of the Guro Youth Cultural Center’s unique functions, while considering its relations to the surrounding residential area. The…

Kim Taehyung (director-general , Urban Space Improvement Bureau in Seoul), Do Hyunhak (director-general , Urban Architecture Improvement Bureau in Yeongju), Park Sungjin (editor-in-chief, SPACE), Yoon Seunghyun (principal, Interkerd Architects), Lim Yookyoung (associate research fellow, Architecture & Urban Research Institute) Policy and Institution Park Sungjin (Park): The collaboration that began with the policy research between the Architectural & Urban Research Institute (auri) and Yeongju City inaugurated the Public Architect Institution (2009) and Design Management Team Institution (2010). I would like to hear more about the situation back in 2007 referring to what kind of social and urban situations in Yeongju City drove you to seek such institutional measures. Do Hyunhak (Do): I know that auri first began to approach public architecture projects in small-to-medium regional cities as a research interest. At…

A genius architect Frank Gehry had worked for Gensler until his mid-forties. The companies of leading architects in international contemporary architecture are much closer to medium and large size firm rather that ateliers. Korean large architectural firms are already on a global scale according to the major standards, such as the sales and the number of architects. It is needed to observe how the large architectural firms were born and what their current issue is. This report presents Jung Hyuntae’s essay analyzing JUNGLIM ARCHITECTURE(Junglim) and an American architectural firm which early Korean firms were referred for their operation. In most large cities in the contemporary world, corporate firms design the majority of major urban and architectural projects with the support of multiple architects and numerous auxiliary teams. While so-called “starchitects”…

Mullae is also home to ‘MEET 2017’ (Mullae Emerging & EnergeTic, MEET), Mullae Arts Village’s support for art and culture. Mullae Arts Village, located near Mullaedong 3-ga where small and medium-sized ironworks abound, has become a village of artists since 2003. As many companies began moving out of the neighborhood due to the policy requiring factories to move and urban redevelopment projects in the 2000s, numerous artists moved into those deserted, empty iron foundries to use them as their studios and ateliers, creating Mullae Arts Village. Currently, about 300 artists are active in Mullae Arts Village and more than 100 studios and ateliers are located in the village. MEET is a project that support such artists, artist companies and producers. A MEET project authority says, ‘The solo exhibitions and performances…

On Aug. 18, Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced the winner of 35th Seoul Architecture Award. The winner of this year is Hannae Forest of Wisdom located in Nowon-gu and designed by Unsangdong Architects. It is a single-story building with 359m2 built in a site of demolished fountain in Jungnangcheon neighborhood park. This small building is divided as volumes of cabin with gable roof. Every single space is the reading room of village library. The library, which introduced as an exemplary case of small library on the August issue, actively reflected the opinion of local residents in Wolgye-dong. It is currently run by Nowongu and the residents’ associate. The SMG commented that Hannae Forest of Wisdom improved the quality of life by providing proper cultural space for the community, and revitalizes…

Zhang Kiuck has been operating at VOID architects with Lee Kusang since 2004. Jiyeseul Kindergarten, Severance Kindergarten, and Residence Hasanun are his major projects. He was awarded 2011 Seoul City Architectural Prize, 2012 Korean Architecture Award and 2014 Korean Educational Facility Award. He’s been teaching at Ewha Womans University. Lee Kusang has been operating at VOID architects since 2004. His major works include Bundang 109, Severance Kindergarten, Residence Hasanun, and Guro Youth Culture Center. He teaches at Seoul National University, and was awarded the KAI Young Architect Award in 2006 and the Seoul City Architectural Prize in 2010. What does it mean to say that architecture should possess a public quality? Furthermore, what form should architecture take to obtain ‘publicness’? These are the questions that VOID architects have contemplated, regardless…

The Paju Culture Books office building at Paju Book City was designed following the completion of two neighbouring buildings adjacent to the plot. The tree plots that form a block share a common yard in the middle, also the end point of the main pedestrian path axis linking up with the surrounding community. In a way, the Culture Books building is the last piece of a puzzle that completes the community. The challenge was to actively connect with the common yard, the building’s form, sharing the materials, and overcoming the scale difference with the neighbouring buildings that have comparatively larger site areas. The site boundary was lined up with bricks to bind the entire block. The two masses of concrete were placed to reflect the manipulation logic of the mass.…

Some may ask what has suddenly attracted such attention to Yeongju. Yeongju first established a strategy for urban regeneration through public architecture and adopted the system of public architecture for small and medium cities in 2009. Even though it is just a small area with a population of 110,000 people, Yeongju has moved faster than Seoul. While the urban regeneration strategy based on the city master plan has recently produced tangible results than ever, Yeongju is getting more attention than any other region. Attracting attention from local government and research institutes, which regard it as a role model in successful urban regeneration cases, Yeongju is invited to the Cities Exhibition of Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in September. This feature will look at public architecture in Yeongju, examples which…

Architect: Ramos Castellano architects (Eloisa Ramos, Moreno Castellano) Design team: Camille Cellier, Marvin Delgado, Eriberto da Luz Location: Mindelo, Cabo Verde Programme: old colonial house refurbishment office use, 13 rooms hotel Site area: 1,200m2 Building area: 485m2 Gross floor area: 815m2 Height: 13m Structure: RC Exterior finishing: lime putty plaster and wooden verandah Interior finishing: lime putty plaster Structural engineer: Ilidio Alexandre Electrical engineer: Ricardo Martins Construction: Duka Design period: 2014 – 2016 Construction period: 2016 – 2017 Client: Theo Lautrey An Ensemble of Old and New Buildings SPACE: Terra Lodge is in São Vicente, a small island in Cabo Verde, Africa. It is a place characterised by the many old houses built during the Portuguese colonial era. The project is a remodeling of a neoclassical building from the 1900s.…

Architect: stpmj Architecture (Lee Seungteak, Lim Mijung) Design team: Kim Hyungjun Location: Gwanggyo, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea Programme: multi-family residential Site area: 249.3m2 Building area: 124.4m2 Gross floor area: 209.6m2 Building scope: 2F Height: 9m Parking: 3 Building to land ratio: 49.9% Floor area ratio: 84% Structure: wood framing structure Exterior finishing: design brick, cement block Interior finishing: paint Structural engineer: Duhang Structural Engineering Mechanical and electrical engineer: Daekyoung Engineering Construction: ON Architecture & Construction Design period: Mar. – Aug. 2016 Construction period: Oct. 2016 – Feb. 2017 Client: Ha Seokjun stpmj Architecture is an idea-driven design practice based in New York and Seoul. The office is found by Lee Seungteak and Lim Mijung driven by the belief that our work explores a new perspective built from careful observations of material,…

Why Community Streets of Seongsan 1-dong? The Sungmisan Village of Seongsan 1-dong in Mapo-gu is one of the most representatively cited examples in local community discussion in the capital city of Seoul, home to ten million citizens. It is also a place which could be considered a recent Mecca for urban community movements in Korea.•1 However, the quality of this village’s physical environment does not seem fit for this reputation. Even the village’s most exemplary street, Seongmisan-ro, is a disappointment due to its banal features. The bicycle track provided on the sidewalks of Seongmisan-ro, by road dieting method, was instated through the concerted efforts of the government, local residents, and professionals, yet today it looks rather lacklustre. The roads are nothing out of the ordinary, then what could be special…