Founded in February 2009, JOHO Architecture is the architectural practice of architect Jeong Hoon Lee, based in Seoul. The name “JOHO” derives from the Chinese characters 造好, meaning “to build” (造) and “to like” or “to favor” (好). The firm was established with the philosophy of interpreting architecture on a humanistic foundation and generating new identities and discourse for the contemporary city. Pursuing architecture as a form of total design, JOHO Architecture engages the overall building process beyond the conventional role of the architect within a fragmented system.
JOHO Architecture develops design through the aggregation, addition, and subtraction of materials as geometric units, a concept the studio defines as “Material_metry.” Through flexible and experimental design strategies across diverse programs and scales, the practice seeks to create sustainable and user-centered spaces while reinterpreting contemporary Korean spatial identity. The studio has received international recognition through awards including the Korea Young Architect Award, Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard, Red Dot Award, German Design Award, the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, Architecture Madrid Award.