[DIALOGUE] Experimenting with the Deconstruction and Reassembly of Housing | Unsangdong Architects
photographed by
Namgoong Sun (unless otherwise indicated)
materials provided by
Unsangdong Architects
edited by
Kim Bokyoung
SPACE February 2026 (No. 699)
DIALOGUE Jang Yoongyoo, Shin Changhoon Co-Principals, Unsangdong Architects × Lee Eunkyung Principal, EMA Architects & Associates, Yi Jaeone Principal, Urban Architecture Station Architects
Why Housing?
Lee Eunkyung (Lee): When thinking of the work of Unsangdong Architects (hereinafter Unsangdong), what tends to come to mind are public projects that boldly reinterpret the ways in which ‘publicness’ operates. I am curious, in this context, why this month’s FRAME chose to collate and discuss Unsangdong’s recent housing projects. Is housing an experiment peripheral to Unsangdong’s body of work, or another line of inquiry that runs in tandem with its public architecture?
Jang Yoongyoo (Jang): Because many of Unsangdong’s well-known projects are not housing projects, it may seem that way. However, all architecture – even commercial architecture – possesses a degree of publicness. Moreover, it is impossible to discuss society, the city, or publicness without discussing housing, which is both the starting point of architecture and the most fundamental unit of society and the city. For this reason, we do not separate public architecture from housing architecture. We have a series of projects called ‘House 10’. It is an experiment aimed at reconsidering publicness and modes of sharing within housing, and at reexamining the components of residential architecture. In this process, we take two opposing attitudes. One is an attitude of questioning and exploring the most fundamental aspects of housing; the other is an attitude of seeking alternative forms that resist conventional residential architecture. In a sense, we are attempting to produce John Hejduk’s notion of the ‘uncanny’ within housing.
Shin Changhoon (Shin): At Unsangdong, we do not design residential architecture and public architecture in fundamentally different ways. What we try to do, rather, is to actively experiment with those points where new possibilities remain, while maintaining the essential nature of housing. For this reason, when selecting projects, we also tend not to take on generic residential commissions.
Yi Jaeone (Yi): The intention to produce work of an ‘uncanny’ nature seems consistent with Unsangdong’s other projects as well. That said, when the two attitudes you mention are drawn into conflict, what criteria do you use to decide which direction to pursue?
Jang: Because this is not my own house, I cannot pursue the uncanny to an extreme degree. What is required instead is to determine how to appropriately reconcile and balance two opposing attitudes. Differences in specific directions, I think, ultimately stem from differing attitudes toward the resident’s life. In the Chronotope Wall House (2016, hereinafter Wall House), we were able to experiment more assertively with the uncanny. The client, having lived only in apartments, found it difficult to imagine life in a detached house, which allowed us to propose a more progressive direction. In the Cube House (2023), we focused more deeply on the essence of a dwelling. The client of the Cube House had a very clear sense of ...
*You can see more information on the SPACE No. February (2026).
*Subscribers can browse through E-Magazine right now. >> Available Here
Jang Yoongyoo
Jang Yoongyoo is a progressive architect who investigates architectural phenomena and believes that a physical reality originates from architectural concepts. After graduating from Seoul National University’s Department of Architecture and its Graduate School, he founded the Jang Yoongyoo Architectural Experiment Atelier, which later evolved into Unsangdong Architects. His practice focuses on an architecture that responds to the changing and dynamic conditions of a new era. Jang has been awarded the Korean Architecture Award, the Seoul Architecture Award, and the Korea Institute of Architects (KIA) Award, and has gained international acclaim through awards and features in prominent international media outlets. He is currently a Professor at the College of Architecture, Kookmin University.
Shin Changhoon
Shin Changhoon graduated from the Department of Architectural Engineering at Yeungnam University and the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Seoul. He co-founded Unsangdong Architects with Jang Yoongyoo to pursue and realise experimental and conceptual architecture. He has dedicated himself to archiving and promoting Korean architecture through his leadership of platforms such as ‘Space Coordinator’ and ‘Architecture Sympathy’. Having served as a Seoul Public Architect, he currently acts as the General Architect of Suseong-gu and the Vice Chair of the Suseong International Biennale. His broader contributions to public architectural culture include his tenure as Chair of the Young Architects Committee of the KIA. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Seoul.
Lee Eunkyung
Lee Eunkyung received her B.S. and M.S. degree in Department of Architecture at Seoul National University, and gained her professional experience at Kiohun Architects & Associates. She also received a Masters in architecture and urban design from the Berlage Institute. After practicing at Xaveer De Geyter Architects and Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop, she founded EMA Architects & Associates in 2011.
Yi Jaewon
Yi Jaewon is an architect, urbanist, and educator. After graduating from the AA School, he founded Urban Architecture Station Architects with the belief that investigating the relationship between non-physical structures central to metropolitan culture and urban space can improve quality of life. He teaches and directs Yonsei Studio X and AAVS Seoul, exploring the transformation of the compressed metropolis through sociality and individual emergent spaces.
