SPACE August 2023 (No. 669)
Exhibition view of ‘Perspectives of Architects: Craftsmanship’ ©Lee Seohyun
How can furniture exist in the architect’s operational sphere? ‘Perspectives of Architects: Craftsmanship’ will be held from June 22 to Aug. 13 at Gallery 2, Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture. It is the second exhibition in the series Perspectives of Architects curated by Shin Changhoon (co-principal, Unsangdong Architects) and Jae K. Kim (professor, Hanyang University) curated under the three themes of ‘art’, ‘furniture’, and ‘environment’. The exhibition explores the meaning of ‘furniture’ from an architect’s perspective, and the different perspectives of architects Park Heechan (principal, Studio Heech), Jang Youngchul (co-principal, Wise Architecture), and Jung Sujin (principal, SIE:Architecture) have been reflected throughout the exhibition. Park Heechan emphasises the philosophical approach to craftmanship and making and displays the process behind making furniture through an installation called Making Workshop (2023). It shows how he approaches the furniture-making process as an architect with a maker’s identity. Jang Youngchul approaches the exhibition space by interpreting it as the domain of a single dwelling. PePe Dwelling for One (2023), which uses a storage cabinet called PePe Shelf to create a minimal living space, revealing how a living space is divided and can be instrumentalised through furniture. He provides a unique experience wherein the space is interpreted as an efficient living space through furniture. Jung Sujin (principal, SIE:Architecture) focuses on how furniture should be read as an ‘object’ within a space, as she pursues the completeness of architecture through the integrated design of furniture. Furniture (2023) incorporates a new exploration of how furniture is not just an object that sits in a building but how it also completely become a part of the space. The Collective Table presents the creative by-products of the three architects alongside interview footage, unifying the architects’ perspectives on furniture and inviting us to think about how furniture works in architectural spaces. The exhibition explores how the identity of an architect, which is distinct from that of a furniture designer, is expressed through furniture, and the future outcomes of this. (by Lee Seohyun)
