The possibilities for openness do not end with the library. The FRAME section of the SPACE August issue introduces the work of Hyunjoon Yoo (Hongik University) + HYP Architects (Jon Jiyoung), whose projects engage with place, people, and nature in a variety of ways. The OAR Contemporary Art Museum embraces the landscape of royal Silla tombs in Gyeongju; the Gochang Hwang Yunseok Library aspires to be a shared living room for all; the Musical Staff in Seongju invites visitors to experience the slow rhythms of nature; and Sungsil Church in Yeokchon-dong connects with the neighbourhood through an open courtyard. Yoo argues that in an age when opportunities for encounter with others are increasingly scarce, new typologies for the library, community centre, church, and art museum must emerge—ones capable of fostering shared experience and sustaining community. All four projects presented here are works in which a sense of ‘publicness’ is paramount, and together they demonstrate the ways of relating that have long defined his practice. These are all ways of creating new openings near us, without having to travel too far.

 

Located in Yangpyeong, Les Jardins de Médongaule is a garden envisaged as a homage to the humanities, where nature, art, and philosophy meet. The building was conceived as staff accommodation for those responsible for maintaining and operating the garden; a functional yet refined living environment for those whose daily lives are closely connected to this landscape.

I believe that the environment is the most influential factor informing the design vision of architects. Some people describe the work of architects based in Busan as ‘excessive’ or ‘strong’, and I wonder if that is because the environment around us is itself so dynamic. Seoul has its own distinctive environment, Busan also has its own, characterised by the sea, mountains, and a rich variety of natural environments. Within that, there are also artificial landscapes such as Gwangandaegyo Bridge. Constantly surrounded by these elements, it is inevitable that they flow into our work, even if indirectly.

We find ourselves in a spot where, over the ridge, the cityscape of Seoul comes into view and where Hyeongjebong Peak of Bukhansan Mountain is so close that one feels they could almost touch it. The late painter Kim Tschang-Yeul (1929 – 2021), a displaced person who spent his life in France longing for his homeland, settled in a quiet neighbourhood nestled in the hills of Pyeongchang-dong which closely resembled the landscape of his native Pyeongannam-do. Completed in 1988 and designed by Kyu Sung Woo at the artist’s request, the house was a courtyard-style residence with two above-ground floors and two basement levels. It fully embodied Kyu Sung Woo’s architectural philosophy, which emphasised the organic relationship between the building and nature through features such as skylights and a layout that naturally followed the sloping terrain. In this house, where living spaces above ground have been separated from the underground studio, Kim lived with his family and laboured over his work for more than 30 years.

Establishing Order and Relation in the Les Jardins de Médongaule: Pezo von Ellrichshausen

 

In this age of production, the work of Pezo von Ellrichshausen (hereinafter PvE) compels us to reconsider the meaning of geometry. Their projects begin with elementary geometric figures such as circles and squares, and yet this is not the geometry that pursues efficiency of production regardless of place. Rather, their geometry reawakens qualities that modern architecture has steadily sought to eliminate: the tension between building and ground, the damp and shaded realm beneath, the sensation of gravity, and the buoyant feeling of ascending to the sky. They stand tall while accepting the ravages of climate and weathering. Rather than existing as autonomous objects detached from the world, they acquire meaning through an active dialogue with the earth. They do not forget the body that climbs and descends sloping paths, seeks balance, searches for direction, looks for shade, or moves toward spaces flooded with light.