SPACE May 2026 (No. 702)
Like many young architects, a significant portion of the early work of AGIT STUDIO (Co-Principals, Seo Jamin, Huh Guenil) consisted of renovation projects. This is because, in Korea, buildings left behind by rapid urbanisation ‒ now aged and in need of repair ‒ remain ubiquitous. This interview addresses Muke Deungchon-dong, a renovation of a factory-type building located in a residential area, and Muke Samcheong-dong, a renovation of architect Kim Heon’s Vortex. There are no flamboyant extensions. Instead, AGIT STUDIO confronts these buildings with a question: why should it be preserved, and how? Using their answers as a beacon, they seek to read the layers of time embedded in small interventions, interpret the circumstances under which the buildings were constructed, and translate the cross-section of the contemporary city into architecture. Ki Jun Kim (Professor, Korea University) and AGIT STUDIO come together to discuss these two projects and the underlying attitude that informs them. Editor
Muke Deungchon-dong [2025, Architect – AGIT STUDIO (Seo Jamin, Huh Guenil), Construction – J Construction (Site Manager, Jung Jangsu)]
A steel-framed factory building constructed in the 2000s within a low-rise residential neighbourhood dating from the 1970s and 1980s was converted into a roastery café and antique gallery. Not a single existing finish was removed; instead, only the newly intervened elements are distinguished by colour and material, making the boundary between different periods of time visible. The steel structure is left exposed inside, while granite flooring cut to intentional dimensions establishes the spatial datum. Custom-made furniture is arranged in accordance with the grid the granite floor creates. On the exterior, a metal fabric façade was added to bring the materiality of the steel building to the outside.
Interview Seo Jamin, Huh Guenil Co-Principals, AGIT STUDIO × Ki Jun Kim Professor, Korea University
Renovation as Condition or Obligation
Ki Jun Kim (Kim): For AGIT STUDIO, is renovation a choice or a given condition?
Seo Jamin (Seo): It varies by project. When clients come without a precise understanding of the legal conditions. In some cases, clients request renovation with clear reasons. In all cases, we spend a considerable amount of time setting the direction, carefully weighing multiple possibilities before making a decision. Beyond the early stage after independence, when we would typically take on small renovation projects and struggle to make them meaningful, I now think renovation has become an important task and perspective for architects today.
Huh Guenil (Huh): In fact, we are currently working on more new construction projects. However, the reason we wanted to assemble our renovation works and discuss them is that unless architects expand on the discourse and discussion surrounding renovation, the buildings of previous eras will once again be reduced to mere objects consigned for demolition. The narrative we wish to extend includes not only the temporal and urban interpretations of existing buildings, but also constructive methods and processes for the ways in which they should be transformed.
Kim: What was the gap between the architecture you learned in school and the architecture you first encountered in practice? During my undergraduate years (1999 ‒ 2005), renovation was not taught at all. If you did learn renovation, how was it taught, and how did the renovation you encountered in practice differ from that during your studies?
Huh: Renovation was also not included in the curriculum during my studies (2003 ‒ 2011); our teaching privileged new construction as the guiding premise of design. However, the concept of heritage restoration was included in our coursework assignment. As a result, although it differs from AGIT STUDIO’s current approach, I recall that in our first renovation project, I first examined whether new construction was possible. Since it was a site on which new construction was not permitted, even extensions and additions were not allowed, so we had to carry out a substantial repair.
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