Empty and Full, Light and Dark, Big and Small: arr

Oh Hyunjin (Oh): I majored in architecture, and after graduating, I began my career at junya.ishigami + associates. I studied architecture separately from interior design at school, but those practices were handled with a more integrated and delicate approach at work. For example, we discussed the cityscape and carpet at the same time. I learned that there is no boundary when dealing with space, electing to think about the whole and attending with the same design acumen to the smallest of the constituent parts. So, when I came back to Korea, I went to flat.m (covered in SPACE No. 633) to experience spatial design. Subsequently, I wanted to explore architecture again and entered NAMELESS Architecture. I was able to gather a wide range of experience without boundaries concerning the subject of space.

Namkoong Kyo (Namkoong): I studied craft and industrial design. Although I was in the Department of Industrial Design, there were classes taught by architects, which greatly influenced me. My vague yearning for architecture has existed since then. After graduation, I set up a studio with my friends and began making furniture. As I made furniture, my interest naturally led to space. By chance, I applied for the open desk of SAAI architectsʼ office, and I thought I should work on spaces and architecture. But I didn't want to do what would be perceived as interior design. I did not want to do interior design, but to work at flat.m. It is because flat.m deals with ‘space’ itself and not with decorative interiors. I gained a lot of experience and worked happily. At the same time, however, there was an idea that I should quickly become independent and go up on the test platform. (laugh)​

Oh: In the case of the KLbdg, the site was a four-storey building of 40m2. It was small, but the first project on which two of us collaborated in the design and construction of the inside and outside. We designed everything from the stair handrails to the furniture, lighting, and façade windows.

Namkoong: There was no spot we did not touch. It was formerly a house, so each room had windows, and the stairwell had vertically elongated windows. We felt that, depending on the material and proportion of the windows, both the façade and the atmosphere of the interior could be altered. We opted for galvanized iron plates indoors, and I hoped this impression would also be felt from the outside. We designed it with a galvanized steel sheet, adjusting the face and proportions of the window.

Oh: Anthracite Yeonhui was also a remodelling project, and we designed both the interior and exterior. It was a project we considered and discussed a great deal, intent to enter the interior from the outside, to attend to the movement from the first floor to the second floor and to the landscape from the inside. I hoped it would be a place in which people could see the scenery or space, and not one in which you would struggle to find an empty seat, like Starbucks next door. I thought it would be nice if there was a low wooden bench from which people could see the landscape while drinking their coffee, and it would be nice if the bench were large and spacious, so people could sit and rest for a while.

Namkoong: I liked the view of the overpasses, the trees lining the street, and of an elementary school overlooking the large window facing the road. I did not think people would come to this space for homely comforts. I wanted those visiting the space to experience its unusual qualities far removed from their daily routine. So, when you go up to the second floor after passing through a dark and narrow path, you experience a sense of openness and witness the panoramic scenery.​

Oh: The element we were most concerned about, among them the height of the floor, was a sense of contrast.

Since the office was located in the basement, I tried to create a dramatic atmosphere and a sense of openness by brightening or darkening the colour of the finish material or lighting according to the traffic line. Although it is a 2,314m² space, it used simple materials. The translucent glass acts as a wall that penetrates the light in a dark or bright, high, or low dramatic space. It is simple, but light and the material properties are well expressed.​​

Oh: In the case of the ʻSitting Planʼ, chairs were designed to suit the theme and purpose. When I thought of how I sat, I thought of sitting naturally and comfortably, such as sitting on my back, leaning at an angle, lying down, and lying on my stomach. Although it is made of a cold and hard stainless steel, it has become furniture with a soft and floating image. It was a work created in light of comfort and the materials we admired. In ʻPeriodʼ, we read the instructions for the objects, choreography, and music of artist Kim Nuiyeon & Jeon Yongwan, and created objects in their reflection . There was a big frame of desks and chairs, but Kim and Jeon entrusted this to us so that we could work freely. Their exhibition ‘Room’, in which we participated last year, set guidelines for calligraphy, furniture, and music. We created works according to the furniture ʻWallʼ guidelines. While we only approached furniture according to the purpose and function of our projects, the works for ‘Period’ and ‘Room’ derived from an experience of reading the artistʼs writings and creating the forms of things.

Namkoong: As all designers do, there are areas where we accommodated the client. More accomplished work tends to emerge when we work well with the client, and we cannot work solely directed by our own tone and character. However, as in ‘Period’ and ‘Room’, when I participate in a project as an artist, I feel like I am working with almost no given conditions and limitations. In this case, it is a small but valuable project because we can create the image we want.​

Namkoong: NOL is a project series named after Lee Kwangho and us. It marks a new team rather than a collaboration. In that respect, like Sikmulgwan PH (covered in SPACE No. 640), even if several subjects participated, it is different from playing the given role of designing and constructing the entire interior space. For example, in the case of Anthracite Yeonhui, with whom we worked as NOL, the roles of Lee and arr cannot be thoroughly divided. Of course, there are areas on which each of us focuses, but it is because we build up our thoughts through dialogue to create a space together. As a project group formed with the goal of ʻinclusive exploration in spaceʼ, we try to work on projects with an experimental attitude.​

Oh: Right. They are different but in very close contact. Itʼs hard, but a sense of the field is essential. Design and details change depending on the general situation during construction, and I think it is the designerʼs job to cope with this on site. While designing, some essential things and some other outlying elements are loosely considered, which can also be controlled in the field. In that respect, we are trying to encompass all elements from start to finish as much as possible.

Namkoong: When working with a separate construction team, the primary difficulty is that construction cannot be halted. Even if we think we have to do it again, our intentions are not fully realised because of the construction period. When we begin construction, we can discuss any adjustments to the construction schedule with the client and make decisions one by one while alo thinking more deeply. However, when we are working on a large-scale project, the construction team has no choice but to enter the process. In that case, we entrust the large frame of the construction to them and take on the remaining elements, such as furniture and lighting. In the end, the level of perfection is different. Thatʼs why we value factories and furniture makers who have worked with us for a long time.

Namkoong: Looking back over our projects so far, we have been preoccupied with ‘empty spaceʼ, ‘spaces with a margin,’and ‘free space.’ As we organise the flow of human movement and create spaces according to a given programme, we also consider ʻhow to empty it wellʼ. I do not believe a space needs to be full. I want full and empty spaces to blend well.

Oh: If we leave any spaces empty, people tend think that the space is empty and chose to place something like plants. (laugh) An empty space without a distinct functionsor purpose can also create visual composure and accommodate temporary programmes and activities.

Namkoong: In terms of materials, I like and enjoy using translucent materials, which are also interested in the quality of light, materials, and landscape. In that context, the Teshima Art Museum, designed by Ryue Nishizawa, was a profound experience.

Oh: I also had a vivid experience with the Teshima Art Museum. A sense of calm, wind, echo, sunshine, light and shade, clouds and birds, fuzzy walls, materials were twinkling in the light. I felt the space and nature fuse completely. In addition, it reminds me of the space in which Claude Monetʼs Water Lillies is displayed in the Chichu Art Museum located on Naoshima Island. The natural light enters and shines on the soft marble floor. The subtle feeling prompted by the natural and artificial things happening by chance or design remain in my memory for a long time. As Namkoong Kyo said, the quality of light, materials and surrounding scenery are important keywords for us.​

Namkoong: Arr is currently working on the Mangrove Sinseol project. The Mangrove Sinseol is a project in which the three teams, KLO, UOR, and arr, will collaborate under the name of KUA, transforming the existing 20-storey business hotel into a shared residential space with three floors of shared space, fifteen floors of long-term residence and two stories of short-term temporary programs. We began design in September last year and it will open in early July. The overall space construction will be left to a professional construction company, and we are designing, manufacturing and delivering most of the furniture except for that purchased. In order to devise more than 300 rooms and various programmes under such a tight budget, we are focusing our efforts on rational design so as not to waste the entire space and the production costs of a single piece of furniture in the room. A single person comport room is currently on display at Space Wadiz, the most basic of all types of rooms. As NOL, we are also working

on designing the exhibition space for ‘Switch Things Up’, which will open on the 12th of June at the Gwacheon National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA). External designers rarely design exhibition spaces at MMCA, and the exhibition space design itself is a project with significant status, so we work away at it happily.

Oh: We are working on a variety of projects that offer great opportunities. I am committed to exploring the potential of light in space, whether it is natural or artificial light. I have a sense that I want to deal with objects that are enhanced by light or are lighting themselves. I also want to create beautiful things in a space that is full and empty.​