SPACE September 2026 (No. 706)
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.
Atelier Bosquet
Elevation of the Hyoshin Elementary School Remodeling (2025) ©Yoon Donggyu
interview Jung Jiyoung Principal, Atelier Bosquet × Lee Sowoon
Looking from the Outside In
Lee Sowoon (Lee): After graduating Hongik University, you practiced at KUNWON Architects Planners Engineers before leaving for Paris to study. What did you learn while studying abroad, and how did it change your design attitudes?
Jung Jiyoung (Jung): In the early years of my professional career, I didn’t have a very clear idea of what kind of architecture I wanted to pursue. I was sometimes swept up in the atmosphere. Still, I think I was more focused on architecture itself then. I spent a lot of time thinking about the space itself—how the light would come inside, what the space would smell like, and so on. Studying abroad broadened my perspective. Before, I had looked at architecture from the inside out. Afterward, I began to look from the outside in. I started considering how architecture exists within history, what kind of order it forms within the urban landscape, the structures and orders of old cities, and how buildings should be preserved. Most of the projects in Paris were involved with renovation or extension, and it is very difficult to design something that goes against the established order of an old city. Naturally, my perspective naturally expanded towards the city and the urban context.
Lee: After returning to Korea, you founded Atelier Bosquet independently in 2020. What does the name of the office mean?
Jung: In Paris, the small artificial groves you often come across are called bosquets. I lived on a street with that name, so I liked its familiarity. I also thought the meaning of an artificial grove resembled the kind of urban architecture I envision. I do not think of a building as an independent object that exists on its own. Just as trees with different forms and characteristics create an order among themselves to form the environment we call a forest, architecture is also like an artificial forest. It continually forms relationships with the city, nature, people, time, and various other elements.
Jung Jiyoung
Interior views of Atelier Bosquet
Interior views of Atelier Bosquet
Lee: You first opened your office in Seoul and later moved to Daegu. Although Daegu is your hometown, you had not studied or worked there before. Could you tell us how you came to relocate your office to Daegu?
Jung: After returning to Korea, I continued working at an office in Seoul and eventually started my own practice in Seocho-dong. Then I had the opportunity to work on several projects in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and I continued to build connections here through my work as a Public Architect for Suseong-gu. The period when I began working as a Public Architect was around the same time that I moved the office address to Daegu. I think I still need more time to develop a sense of belonging as a local architect. The region still feels unfamiliar to me. (laugh) Yet, from an outsider’s perspective, one can sometimes see things that local familiarity makes invisible. Ordinary landscapes can feel valuable and beautiful to me. I do not think one becomes a local architect simply by being from a particular place. But through participating in public architecture competitions and meeting people in the region, I have listened to and experienced the city’s issues and the concerns of its architectural community at close range. That has made me think that I may be able to become an architect who works here with a sense of responsibility.
Lee: So far, Atelier Bosquet’s portfolio consists entirely of public architecture projects. Were design competitions an entry route in the early stages of your independent practice, or did you intend to focus primarily on public architecture from the outset?
Jung: I like public architecture since it’s the most closely connected to people’s everyday lives, but I didn’t open the office with a plan to specialise in public architecture. Some young architects start their own practices with partners or operate them with support from a broad network of people, but I didn’t have that kind of network. Public architecture design competitions were a relatively accessible channel through which one could be evaluated, at least to some extent, on the strength of a design proposal rather than personal connections. I plan to continue working on public architecture. Within it, I want to keep testing whether the design direction and methodology I pursue are well aligned with its purpose. Compared to the values asserted by the term ‘public architecture’, I believe that many buildings actually constructed still fall short of that value as architecture. There are compromises we have to make in order to secure opportunities, but I hope to change things gradually through our work.
Concept model of Bonghwa Green Living Support Center (2023, design proposal)
Bonghwa Green Living Support Center ©Atelier Bosquet
Gumi City Central Library Remodeling (scheduled for completion in 2027) ©Atelier Bosquet
Gyeongju Integrated Cultural Library (2025, design proposal) ©Atelier Bosquet
Approaches to Urban Architecture
Lee: You mentioned that you have a design methodology that you share with your staff. What does it involve?
Jung: It’s something we still need to research and study further, so I hesitate to describe it too definitively. (laugh) We think about architecture in the city in two broad directions. First, there is the ‘programme régulier’ (regular programme), found in projects such as housing, schools, and office buildings that create a larger urban order through regular patterns. When working on such projects, we try to embrace the city’s existing order and landscape as fully as possible and reflect them in the design. The other is the ‘programme singulier’ (singular programme), intended to gather and concentrate people or bring change to the city. When we encounter such projects, we try to introduce, through architecture, elements that can transform people’s everyday lives. I am not sure whether this can properly be called a methodology, but at least it is not a design concept for an individual project.
Lee: So, it’s not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence with building types or functions. Can both regular and singular programmes coexist within a single building?
Jung: The character of programmes can certainly be different even within a single building. Rather than dividing them rigidly by colour or category, however, we first look at which type of programme has greater density across the project as a whole. We establish the initial direction based on that and then continue to develop it throughout the design process. When designing schools, we try to take an approach that is more responsive to the existing urban order. If you look at Daegu’s older urban landscape, there are many brick buildings. The Gyeongbuk Girls’ Commercial High School was also a beautiful building with its original red brick. These days, colourful façades are often used almost as a trend when designing schools, but I wanted to preserve the existing brick. I proposed preserving the façade as much as possible and inserting a second inner skin so that the exterior could be retained. In the end, the double-skin system was not realised, but the red brick could be retained. The Hyoshin Elementary School Remodeling, completed last year, follows the same approach. People may not realise that it has recently been renovated Remodeling. (laugh)
Lee: Are there projects that you felt needed to bring about a change in the city through their architecture?
Jung: One example is the Bonghwa Green Living Support Center (2023, design proposal). Bonghwa is a very small town, and the proposed building was expected to be relatively tall for the area, excluding residential buildings. It would be a gathering place for residents and a building that naturally draws attention. Although the façade does not physically move, openings in the same pattern appear to open to different degrees depending on the viewing direction, so that the building gives a new impression each day. At the lower levels, we provided many openings to allow residents easy access. Because the surroundings are an old small town, we used brick at the base so that it wouldn’t feel too disconnected from the existing urban order. But above that, we wanted to create something that would offer a new experience from day to day. For the Gumi City Central Library Remodeling (scheduled for completion in 2027), we considered separately what should remain responsive to its context and where change should be introduced. The roadside façade designed by Kim Swoo Geun needed to be preserved. But, as the city grew, more people began gathering in the park behind the building, and we believed that people’s perception of the building’s front had changed as well. We therefore retained the existing façade while creating a new front facing the park.
Lee: The Sincheon 119 Safety Center (2023) was designed as a building in which red stands out. From the perspective of harmony, what role do singular programmes play in the city?
Jung: I don’t think harmony means the same thing as conformity. The Sincheon 119 Safety Center is a building that needs to remain visible and draw people’s attention. In rural areas, fire stations can serve as urban landmarks to such an extent that they give their names to streets or intersections. I believe that expressing the role a 119 safety centre must play in the city is itself a way of achieving harmony with that city.
Gyeongbuk Girls’ Commercial High School Remodeling (2023) ©Atelier Bosquet
Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation Laboratory Expansion (2023) ©Yoon Donggyu
Principles for Working Together
Lee: You have participated in many competitions in collaboration with other architectural practices. Is there a role that Atelier Bosquet typically adopts?
Jung: When we work with overseas firms, we usually take on the role of the local architect. When we collaborate with local architectural firms, we tend to take on a role more like that of an overseas firm, which is developing the initial design or integrating various ideas into a cohesive final proposal.
Lee: I was surprised to hear that you currently have six employees. These days, younger ateliers tend not to employ many staff members.
Jung: I think I feel a certain responsibility, as a more experienced architect in the local community, to work with younger architectural practitioners and help them grow. If I am able to, I would like to offer architecture students regular opportunities to gain practical experience.
Lee: You have said that you aim to foster a working culture of no overtime. Since you have mainly undertaken competition projects, which often involve a long and demanding process even after winning, how do you manage to uphold that principle?
Jung: First of all, we try not to create too many turning points in the design process. We tend to make decisions quickly and do not make excessive minor revisions. I see reducing overtime not simply as an employee benefit, but as a principle behind how we work. In the past, working intensely for long hours was often regarded as directly connected to the quality and completeness of a project. Today, however, there are many good tools available, so naturally we should work more efficiently. I hope that young architects will not leave the profession because of long working hours. To support this, we use Notion so that all the staff can view the overall schedules of projects being carried out in the office, as well as each person’s monthly and daily tasks. We also make extensive use of AI. During the construction-documentation phase, we use BIM, particularly because public-sector projects frequently undergo design changes due to budget constraints or construction costs. BIM allows us to respond to those changes immediately and manage time more efficiently. For the Yecheon Insect Ecology Center Cafeteria Expansion (2024), we used BIM throughout the entire process, from schematic design through permitting and construction-documentation preparation. It is still difficult to use BIM in collaborative processes in the region, but we continue trying, even through trial and error.
Jung Jiyoung
