SPACE March 2026 (No. 700)
I AM AN ARCHITECT
‘I am an Architect’ was planned to meet young architects who seek their own architecture in a variety of materials and methods. What do they like, explore, and worry about? And how are architects in various regions expanding their own worlds in different ways? SPACE is going to discover individual characteristics of them rather than group them into a single category.
Architectural models at the office of HaeSeok Architects
interview Jang Wonseok Principal, HaeSeok Architects × Kim Hyerin
Living, Teaching, and Learning
Kim Hyerin (Kim): Since opening HaeSeok Architects (hereinafter HaeSeok) in Sejong in 2018, you have continued to operate your practice there.Jang Wonseok (Jang): I didn’t have any prior connection to Sejong. I’m originally from Busan, and I studied and worked in Seoul. In 2014, I relocated to Sejong due to my wife’s job, and I ended up working on the interior design of our own home. Until then, I had mainly worked on large-scale, competition-oriented projects and therefore I had almost no understanding of how interior construction processes worked or how much they cost. It was my first time trying it. During that process, I felt like I was no longer someone who built architecture, but someone who drew drawings. I started questioning what kind of professional I was and could really be. So, I made a bold decision to move down to Sejong and establish a different kind of architectural practice. I didn’t open my office immediately as I felt that I lacked enough hands-on experience, so I worked at another local office in Sejong while studying and learning more. After that, I opened my own office.
Material samples at the office of HaeSeok Architects
Kim: Along with your current practices as an architect, you also work as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Architecture at Chungnam National University (CNU). What messages do you hope to convey to students?
Jang: Honestly, I think I gain more from the students. They haven’t studied architecture for very long but their imaginations are incredibly rich. They want to do so much and have strong ambition, but they’re just unfamiliar with the methods. It feels strange to claim I’m ‘teaching’ them when they just don’t know the methods yet. So I keep asking what they are thinking, try to draw those ideas out, receive them, and help organise them. I do have a strong dialect, and I tend to look them directly in their eyes, and ask more questions if they struggle to answer. These traits intimidate some students, but I’m genuinely just curious. (laugh)
Jang Wonseok
Kim: It must be very busy to run an office and teach.
Jang: The advantages are much greater. The downside is lack of time, but I think I’ve learned how to concentrate effectively within fixed time limits. At school, we teach and learn about fundamentals and proper processes. Because I teach precise processes and structured thinking, I find myself following proper methods at the office too, even when it’s difficult. That means I miss fewer things. I think it also makes me a bit more honest or pure in my approach. (laugh)
Office of HaeSeok Architects
Office of HaeSeok Architects
Kim: Do you have any architects you particularly admire?
Jang: It keeps changing. When I was younger, I liked the well-known architects who made what we tend to refer to as ‘architecture as architecture’. Now I find myself drawn to architects whose temperament aligns with mine. Recently, I have grown a liking to FujiwaraMuro Architects, a Japanese architect group mainly working on residential projects in Osaka. Their buildings are very introverted in character, but contain incredible persistence inside. I think that level of persistence is something only architects or people in similar fields can really sense. Their architecture keeps transforming and expanding according to the client’s personality. They do not perceive constraints as hardships. Instead, they say they simply had interesting conversations with interesting people and made interesting spaces. You can see the constraints they overcame in their final results, but they seem to struggle privately and then present the outcome to others.
CNU Architecture Studio Remodeling (2025) ©Hyeonki Yoon
Towards a Public Architecture That is Open to Everyone, Like Crooked Teeth
Kim: Since 2025, you’ve also been working as a Public Architect for Chungcheongnam-do. What led you to as a Public Architect?Jang: After opening my office, I did not work on a public architecture project until 2024; I worked 100% on private-sector projects. The decisive turning point was when I was commissioned to remodel the design studios at CNU, where I currently teach. It wasn’t technically a public architecture project, but from my perspective, It felt like working for over 100 clients. When working on private projects, I feel happy if an individual client is satisfied. But in this case, I completed one project and more than a hundred people appreciated it. That made me want to create architecture for more people. Of course, just wanting to do it doesn’t mean you can start right away, so I studied more and tried to meet many people already working in public architecture. That’s why I applied to become a Public Architect. At night, I’m conducting research and writing my papers on public architecture.
Kim: Can you please elaborate on the CNU Architecture Studio Remodeling (2025)?Jang: The design studio was located at the very top of one side of a building shaped like a square with a large central courtyard, almost like a rooftop extension. The exterior was entirely panel-based making it extremely vulnerable to fire. Therefore, the project was initially focused on replacing the exterior materials with non-combustible materials. However, by working together with the professors, we were able to remodel the interior as well. Inside, there were originally nine studio rooms lined up in a row, and you had to open the doors to communicate. We removed all the walls and kept only the columns. We created an open space where students from all years could talk together, move around freely, and see each other’s work. At first, students didn’t like it—they wanted to secretly play games and such, but now everything was visible! (laugh) Now, they’ve gotten used to the layout and say they enjoy talking and interacting with each other.
Kim: As a Public Architect, is there a mindset you personally consider important?
Jang: My mindset is very clear. Today’s public architecture often feels heavy, rigid, and grandiose. I believe architects should create work that quietly carries its the meaning and the effort taken, but when presenting it to people, I want to offer public buildings in a lighter way. Even if it’s not a flashy project, I want it to feel approachable — something people can casually smile at and feel comfortable within. Rather than something perfectly straight and formal, I think it would be nice if public architecture had something slightly quirky, like cute protruding teeth, something people can bump into and engage with.
Office of HaeSeok Architects
Office of HaeSeok Architects
Creating Harmonising Spaces
Kim: HaeSeok has completed many single houses. Were you drawn to designing single houses from the beginning?Jang: Since our office is small, we do not have much competitiveness for large buildings and therefore there is a situational reason that led us to smaller projects. But I had always been confident about housing. (laugh) When I worked at design firms in Seoul, I worked a lot on multi-family housing, collective housing, and townhouses. Apartments can be stressful as you have to generate many ideas within fixed structures and areas, so I thought being able to design freely within a site boundary was like a dream. It’s difficult, but very fun. I plan to keep doing it.
Kim: Of your housing projects, is there one that felt like a turning point for you as an architect?
Jang: One of my early projects, the Joosan-dong house Remodeling (2021), involved remodeling a 40-year-old house. The attitude I learned from when I first met the client has stayed with me till now. They didn’t talk about what kind of space or living room layout they wanted. Instead, they kept writing me letters. (laugh) They also sent me PPTs about their upbringing. They even gave me architecture books they had highlighted and asked me what I thought of them. They also recommended movies for me to watch. At the time, I didn’t fully understand their intentions, but I later realised that while technical matters are the architect’s responsibility, housing projects are completed only when there is emotional resonance with the client. I understood that their message was that even if it wasn’t an outstanding architectural masterpiece, they wanted a result that connected emotionally with them. Since then, when I meet new clients, I ask similar things—what are your hobbies, favourite movies, favourite writing, and so on. When clients feel their own thoughts are strongly reflected, they recognise the house as truly their own. Satisfaction is higher that way. I try to apply this approach to other projects too. I think it has simply become the attitude of our office.
Joosan-dong house Remodeling (2021) ©Jang Wonseok
Joosan-dong house Remodeling (2021) ©Jang Wonseok
Kim: When designing single house, what elements do you tend to prioritise?
Jang: Most people are very clear about spaces like bedrooms or studies. Clients often try to assemble those spaces efficiently. But as people age and their lifestyle changes, if the space stays the same, they have to adapt themselves to the space. To overcome this, I try to reflect clearly defined personal spaces as they are, but intervene more in the connecting spaces between rooms. Those areas are often referred to as ‘circulation’, but I describe them as ‘connecting spaces’. You can either stay there, or they can merge with other spaces. These are fluid spaces. I’m also clear about aesthetics — some people want to decorate more than necessary. In those cases, I tell them they can install those things later if they feel they need them while living there.
Kim: What is the Bangok-dong project you are currently working on?
Jang: The project is still in preparation for construction. The clients are a married couple, and their lifestyles are very different, so I approached the project by separating their spaces. Each person uses independent living spaces, and they only meet in shared areas like the attic, rooftop, terrace, or first-floor living room. Each private space is a duplex-style room. It was something I suggested during discussions. (laugh) It sounds unusual, but it fits their living pattern. In the husband’s duplex space ‒ where the lower floor is the bedroom and the upper floor is the studio ‒ I placed a large bathroom in the middle level, almost like a living room. It sits along the stair circulation path. Since he works from home a lot, it allows easy bathroom access from both the studio and bedroom. I hid the toilet as much as possible and instead opened the upper part toward the sky. The entrance to the bathroom is designed like a semi-living room where he can even place a PC and play games. (laugh) The wife’s space is structurally similar, but instead of a bathroom, we placed a laundry area in the centre, since she has lots of clothes. Structurally, it was very challenging to resolve.
Jang Wonseok
Kim: In retrospect, what keyword do you think best represents the identity of your office, ‘HaeSeok’?
Jang: If I had to choose one word, it would be ‘ambition’. I’ve always had a strong desire to try things, sometimes excessively so, and I have always wanted to keep doing things differently, by adopting a different attitude. The office name HaeSeok sounds logical and analytical in Korean, but it also comes from my name, Wonseok. The Chinese character seok (席) means ‘seat’, and combined with hae (諧), it means ‘a place where things harmonise’. My wife came up with the name immediately, saying it suited me. I want to work in a way that reflects that meaning.
Kim: What is your dream as an architect?
Jang: I’m half-joking, but since I was a student, my dream has been to have my work published in SPACE magazine. (laugh) I’d also like to publish work in the American interior design magazine Dwell. In addition, for example, if I complete an architectural work I’m truly proud of, and someone evaluates it and it becomes known to people, I’d love it if past clients congratulate me and say they knew I could do it. Maybe it’s a bit immature, but rather than material success, I want to be someone who receives that kind of recognition. (laugh)
You can see more information on the SPACE No. March (2026).
Jang Wonseok
Jang Wonseok is an architect who aspires to be a person who is ‘outwardly gentle, and inwardly composed’, yet is ‒ both personally and architecturally ‒ still in a state of fermentation: outwardly soft, but internally intensely obsessive. He finds deep satisfaction in observing a single theme over a long period of time and, through repetitive processes of transformation, barely gathering thoughts that might otherwise scatter and turning them into architectural substance. He is deeply absorbed in the paradoxical question of ‘how to be cool without looking like you’re trying to be cool.’
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