POGOKJEONG - Architecuture project(Changshin, Seoul)

POGOKJEONG

PROJECT TYPE : Museum

DATE : 2015. 3 ~ 12

LOCATION : Changshin-dong, Seoul, South Korea

STUDIO : Professor Jeong Wu, Chae

PRIZE : 2015 Graduation Degree Show 1st Prize(Spatial Design)

Concept

The project, which was held at the 2015 graduation degree show, set up Changshin-dong, Jongno-gu,Seoul, as its site. The format of this project is a history museum that deals with the history of the area. The keyword 'I' was set as the theme of the graduation exhibition project. Therefore, before starting the project, I had time to define ‘myself’. The first step in attempting to reflect myself was to look back at how I became who I am now. In the process of reflecting 'myself', I was able to settle the route of the project.
The current 'I' is defined as the result of accumulation of various experiences in the time that has passed through from the past.

As I looked back on the past while trying to define myself, I decided the site considering its history. In order to carry out the project, I decided to select a specific site and to reveal the unique events that occurred on that site and to implement it on the current object. As I look back on the past and reflect on the present to define myself, I decided to analyze the layers of time and assign the elements of the past to the present in this project. Based on this idea, I decided the site
considering memorable events happened on the site. As a result, I could discover the source of the project in Seoul, the place where I accumulated various experiences. Since every site is accumulation of its own history, it was important to know whether the site is memorable or not. Focusing on the historical events that must not be forgotten and the identity worth being preserved and remembered, Changsin-dong was set as the site of this project. To narrow this distance between present and past of Changshin-dong, and to establish the identity of the neighborhood, I set 'History Museum' as the format of this project.

History Graph

History

Changshin-dong was a place where people of low social status such as a maid of honor or a shaman of the latter period of the Joseon Dynasty lived.

The Rock Mountain of Changshin-dong was a place that boasts a gorgeous scenery and was a place where local residents visited to soothe their anger and sorrow. At that time, the residents built countless shrines, which made The Rock Mountain mean something more than just surroundings but a spiritual anchor to the residents. However, during the Japanese occupation, Japanese Government quarried the granite mountains of Changshin-dong, and the stone was used to build agencies to strengthen the Japanese colonization over Korea. In this process many residents were forcibly conscripted and broke their habitat with their own hands. After that, refugees from North Korea gathered forming a poor hillside village and the area slumped. In the 1970s, the quality of life of the residents rose as the sewing industry growed. However, the influx of China into the market caused an ebb tide of Changshin-dong.Meanwhile, the role of The Rock Mountain, which gave spiritual stability to the residents, was forgotten. Nowadays, high rock mountains are remembered and exist only as suffering to the inhabitants.

Site research

The site was selected for easy access to the population and a natural distribution of vegetation, with granite rocks and low noise. A waste concrete building in the northeast was selected, satisfying all the requirements. This waste building consists of four floors and had a special shape of rock digging into the building diagonally. This project suggests a new design of the building, focusing on organic integration of nature and artificial construction.