Preserving the Past and Engaging the Present at Jin-ju Culture Center

Jin-ju Culture Center – Time cannot travel backwards, but memories can. Historical records have allowed the memories of thousands of years to spread from generation to generation. And Jinju City is the carrier of these memories. Jinju city is known for its rich history, in which historical events such as the Imjin War have become important memories. We usually design architecture by creating spaces. It is three dimensional thinking. But at this time, we would like to design it in four dimensions by adding timeline. So we treated Jin-ju Culture Center as a time machine to allow people to feel the history and present simultaneously.

Architizer chatted with Danwei Wang, Partner and Design Director at ID LAB ARCHITECTURE, to learn more about this project.

Architizer: What inspired the initial concept for your design?

Danwei Wang: The history of the city. Jin-ju City is one of the most famous ancient city in the South Korea. The acient city wall faces the site just across the river.

This project won in the 10th Annual A+Awards! What do you believe are the standout components that made your project win?

I believe our projects have lots of standout points. We have a strong concept, and a beautiful form that echoes the concept. We also design the public space cleverly, especially in designing the multi-purpose room. We even create an amphitheater by combining sunken plaza and multi-purpose room to make the building more friendly and welcoming to everyone.

What was the greatest design challenge you faced during the project, and how did you navigate it?

The greatest challenge is how to make the main theater sit properly under the irregular building shape. We did so many tests and sectional model to make sure the building is the perfect size.

How did the context of your project — environmental, social or cultural — influence your design?

Like I said before, the context of the project is very crucial. Our design is inspired by the history of the city. The ancient city across the river has helped us to decide the form of the building.

Team Members

Zhe Wang, Kai Zhu

Consultants

WAG Architects

For more on Jin-ju Culture Center, please visit the in-depth project page on Architizer.