Primary contributor degree and year of graduation from Cornell AAP, : Jaeho Park, B.Arch. 2019
PROJECT INFORMATION:
Title of work : Korean Legacy
Department the project was completed in : Architecture
Academic course the project was completed in : ARCH 5902 X Thesis
Academic advisor[s] for the project : Val Warke, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture and Samia henni, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture
Date project was completed : December, 2019
Description of project :
The two koreas that share 5000 years of history have been separated past 70 years after the korean war. They have been developed under very different conditions of political and economical system. capitalism in the south and communism in the north. Each political and economical system has been affected and translated into architecture, infrastructure and planning very differently especially in the capitals.
The Korean peninsula eventually must face reunification at some point in the future. Koreans are looking forward to a feasible timing for reunification, but not under the current political systems of government. The percentage of success in terms of feasibility increases with or without both of the existing systems, not merely one. A new political system will emerge after a few years, perhaps. Koreans just need to wait until they can see this new system. None of us know what kind of system will be revealed, but it could be the hybrid of both capitalism and communism.
The project proposes to address a new typology of form through the associated principles of architectural elements in iconic, monumental buildings those which have projected from the different ideologies of each country under the completely new hybrid political and economical system that will impact the Korean peninsula in the event of korean reunification.
It will redefine the standard of human dignity when architectural functions merge through the hybrid forms and furthermore will become a portal to a future in korea.
Treatment in the South : acupuncture in Seoul
insert the iconic object in the existing public lots. each object becomes a trajectory to bring people in and lead them out to the main isolated plaza. iconic objects are all looking at each other with two existing monuments, this axis connects visually as well as physically with the main plaza with special bridges that connect from each iconic object. The initial axis is coming from the blue house which is the presidential office to kyungbok palace to the plaza, and finally to the objects, then it goes all the way back to the blue house.
The main idea is bringing the notion of the institution from pyongyang.
barrel, submarine tower, tank, missile, and bunker; these 5 iconic objects will reflect the presence of military machines in the middle of seoul, and it will be the most controversial piece of architecture to be built in what is a transitional moment that contains the history of modern korea in the language of form and architecture. each of the objects have their own special features and always have to go through the object in order to cross the bridge, and have the notion of looking out from the inside.
Treatment in the North : parasite in Pyongyang
experiencing individuality is perhaps the most unusual activity for people living in pyongyang. increasing the individuality into maximum scale with different kinds of functions could provide them with a totally new experience that they should have been enjoying already in their lives for the sake of dignity.
bringing the notion of the office space from seoul, such as renting out a space with two iconic objects, would be slightly parasitic to the existing buildings and will take over an existing institution. Each and every intervention here is on the individual scale within a huge building, mainly the things that people from Pyongyang have never experienced before.
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