A building with an exterior that resembles a stack of books, known as Graphic, now occupies a place on Hoenamugil in Itaewon-dong. The exterior material was formed in collaboration with the Chinese ceramic artist Wen Ping, and the building’s concept is a comic book rental store-cum-bar. Traces of Kim Jong-u’s (principal, OONN) work can be found in the use of materials and lighting that have been designed to satisfy users in their experiences drinking and reading a graphic novel within the space. Kim Jong-u opened his office OONN in 2021 after managing his spatial design studio U.lab for about 15 years, and Graphic is OONN’s debut project. I had a chance to ask him about how he came to build Graphic and to hear more about his thoughts on interior design and architecture.
interview Kim Jong-u principal, OONN × Park Jiyoun
Park Jiyoun (Park): Graphic is OONN’s debut project. When did you become involved in this project?
Kim Jong-u (Kim): An owner of a whiskey bar that I frequented contacted me late one night, saying that he wanted to introduce me to a certain person, who was planning to build a building, because of our shared tastes. It was very late at night, so I said I’d call back next morning, but I completely forgot about it! (laugh) Then, a few months later, the bar owner called again, asking why I hadn’t called back, and said that the person already went on to design an urban residential building. Feeling apologetic, I offered to meet up with the client and review the design. We met and talked for a while, and we realised that all our preferences – even including our favorite drinks – were similar! The meeting which was originally meant to last an hour went on for four or five hours of chatting between two grown men. (laugh) Then about a week later, the client visited my office. He said that he would make the payment for this urban residential building design, and added that he would contact me again regarding another building for graphic novels.
Park: The concept is a comic book rental store that is also a bar. What is the design motif, and who are the target audience?
Kim: We targeted fans of graphic novels as our audience. We originally wanted to keep it as a membersonly service, but we decided to open it up to the general public in the early stages of its opening. The early response was unexpectedly good, and so we adapted our strategy to encourage more people to acquaint themselves with graphic novels and the building Graphic before gradually turning our focus to the fanbase.
Park: The building is located at Chang Jinwoo Street, which is no longer as populated as before. As a space for commercial businesses, was this a concern?
Kim: There is no Chang Jinwoo’s store on Chang Jinwoo Street. This is because many stores have left due to gentrification. The client thought that it would be a perfect place for fans to come and read in a quiet environment, and I agree. I liked the idea of a building with a distinct programme that would settle down in a once heavily-populated neighbourhood as a quiet haven for the fans. Park: The white windowless ceramic exterior is eye-catching. How did this exterior design come about? Kim: I like and admire fine art. This used to affect the use of objets in the early stages of my career, but this time you could say that this preference was manifested in the material. As a space for books, I wanted to express a form that resembled a stack of books. While pondering this, I came across a work by the ceramic artist Wen Ping at the gallery. After seeing his book sculpture, I contacted him for a collaboration. The reason why I kept it windowless was because of the surrounding environment. There is no wide horizon or landscape to look at, and the only thing visible outside the window were the bricks of adjacent villas. So, I decided to remove the windows and create a more focused environment for reading.
Park: The interior must accommodate a reading space and a bar. I’m curious about the lighting design.
Kim: This part was easily resolved thanks to the many years of interior work experience at U.lab. U.lab designing eating and drinking spaces. It has a wide and deep knowledge base regarding F&B spaces, and this includes lighting design. In one restaurant designed at U.lab, we made the lighting adjustable in three or four stages according to the time of day. Because this project lacks windows, we added the ability to make extra fine adjustments to lighting control. Light sources were designed to be repositionable in areas where users would be spending some time, and individual lights were installed for the inner spaces where people may read while lying down. The overall lighting design is unique in that it emulates natural daylight by having light from the gaps in the walls and the ceiling mix together. Ultimately, the design was finalized after having it reviewed by the Italian lighting design company Viabizzuno.
Park: I heard that the design began from the various reading positions. Could you explain in detail how this was applied to the architectural elements and furniture?
Kim: We didn’t read the urban context. In contrast to typical architectural design methods, we only focused on the books. While the building exterior might seem somewhat reserved and aloof, we wanted the interior to be hospitable to the readers. And so our research began with the various reading positions. Because of this, our design started from the interior space and ended with the exterior form as the final step. Everyone has one’s own preferred reading position. We classified various positions ‒ lying, slouched, and so on ‒ into nine types, analysed the height of furniture, and consolidated all our findings into the space. For example, we used sisal as material through which to allow people to sit on the stairs. We placed reading tables in the space that people first encounter upon ascending to the second floor, and we installed sofas with adjusted depths at the corner spaces along the circulation flow lines so that people may read on them in their semi or fully lying down positions. On the third floor, the bar table is placed at the centre. We wanted to use human behavior as the form.
Park: The space contains about 5000 graphic novels. Graphic novels come in different print sizes, and for some of them, the cover page is very important. How were such things implemented in the design?
Kim: It’s unfeasible and almost impossible to accommodate and display each novel according to the various sizes and forms that may change by season. And so we set an average size as standard and placed the shelves alongside the wall. Large books like artbooks were opened up and displayed on tables. Between the restrictive bookstore atmosphere and the unrestrained bar atmosphere as two extremes, we sought for a third kind of entertainment space somewhere in between.
Park: You said that the exterior of Graphic will only look better as it ages.
Kim: The project began before the pandemic. We ordered the exterior material from a ceramic factory at Foshan, China and kept some samples at the office’s outdoor terrace. Then the work got delayed due to the pandemic, and when we came back to it about a year and 2 months later, we found out that the ceramic got worn out. The original white got stained into a gentler ivory tone due to dust and grime, but that color was beautiful on its own. Our goal is to make a building that does not grow uglier as it ages, but a building that readily wears the passing of time. This has some connection with the projects By-products of urban (2020) and GRANDHAND Mapo (2020) that we worked on at U.lab. By-products of urban was a series where discarded urban materials were recycled into new materials. We picked up a metal edged pipe discarded at a construction site, and out of pity for its rusty and bentup shape, we used it as a part of the project Series Corner (2020). We observed how textures change over time due to light exposure in GRANDHAND Mapo, and a similar concept was applied in the exterior of this project.
Park: What are the future plans for OONN?
Kim: When I first opened U.lab in 2007, the only thing that used the word ‘lab’ back then was the cosmetic brand Lab Series! (laugh) It dawned on me that it could be a dangerous idea to conduct lab experiments with spaces owned by our clients, and so I wanted to end this experimental approach and change the company name in about ten years or so once the company settles down and matures. But even now, we are still performing experiments and experiencing failures. Instead of changing our mission, we decided to open an office under a new name and approach that differs from the character of U.lab. The subtitle of OONN is Metaworks. The 3D programmes that we mainly use are actually quite similar and sometimes even interchangeable with the tools used in the metaverse. We can upload the files of our spatial designs on the metaverse, make a virtual bookstore and utilize it as a sales space, or make a club space for a virtual performance. Connecting our space to the metaverse is no longer something difficult or farfetched. We think that the Metaworks of OONN have only just begun.
