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The Hidden Cloister
The Hidden Cloister
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The Hidden Cloister
Firm
STATUS
Concept
SIZE
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
$10M - 50M
The unbuilt
Akin to Michael Heizer’s earth art, wherein negative spaces are sculpted from the earth, the proposal creates a pure subtraction of ground as a psychological ‘void’ space in the Suncheon old city. The open-to-sky quadrangle that results from this act is then seamlessly connected with the riverbank, opening up a new linkage in the heart of the old city. The quadrangle thus acts as a buffer – as a transitory space into the old city. As culture is a dynamic construct that keeps evolving, the proposal aims to forge an urban relationship that might last longer than temporal processes.
The park
A park conceals the quadrangle from the neighbouring streets and their noise, creating a quiet cloister – a green island in the midst of an urban situation. It negotiates between the scales of the city and the quadrangle. In a reinterpretation of traditional Korean temples, where parks surround the buildings and the buildings define their limits, a dual relationship is thus created between the built and unbuilt spaces.
Traces of the wall here bring forth recollections of a historical layer that has been erased, bridging a continuity between history and modernity. By intending dense planting of different species of flora, the Humanities City might echo the efforts of the Eco-City of Suncheon, emphasising the eco-imperatives of today within a major urban setting.
The passage
To define the limits of the open-to-sky quadrangle, two linear elements are settled diagonally opposite each other. They share a relationship of duality and emphasise directionality from the riverbank in the south to the quadrangle and the Art Centre, and further onwards to the cultural streets that branch out towards the north.
At the junction between the two major urban parts – the quadrangle and the riverbank – are situated a cafetaria and a kiosk pavilion that help to solve this transition and revitalise the river.
The built
While the limits of the open-to-sky quadrangle are protected from above by the enclosing park, ‘within’ the ground a shaded cloister surrounds the quadrangle. Across this threshold space that exists between light and shadow, are carved many subterranean rooms – following the same system of pure subtraction of mass. The quadrangle is thus left as a free centre – as a visual anchor point for circulation.
The proportions
A simple system is devised for this incremental growth around the quadrangle, with the traditional measure ‘kan’ – that refers to the spacing between columns – being used to derive the proportions. The subterranean rooms are therefore established on the basis of a 3.60 x 3.60 m module.
The making
These rooms and their adjacent cloister are made with large pieces of granite stone. From this heavy stereotomic base, the two light pavilions that rise opposite each other are made in the tectonic of steel. In this manner, a pronounced stratification is created between the two layers. The system – with a heavy horizontal base made in granite stone and a light pavilion that floats above it – is reminiscent of traditional Korean architecture, whilst opening up the heart of the old city to contemporary interpretation.
The experience
The two pavilions – the new Yeonja-ru and the access to the Art Centre – have a rhythmical system that transforms the linear spaces into vibrant ones. The pavilions refer to history through their aspiration to ascend towards the sky as continuous porticoes. Conceived as simple solutions for transitioning from place to place, the pavilions interpret a particular quality of the old Yeonja-ru – to never allow time to pass by unobserved. The built therefore becomes a tapestry that constantly transforms over the seasons, allowing in different colours, smells and light.
This experience of the pavilions is brought in striking contrast with the atmosphere of the low-lying, cave-like spaces that house the exhibitions, the visitors’ centre and other programmes.
The project seeks to balance the speed of contemporary society in Suncheon with the creation of a ‘sacred’ space that lends a very different atmosphere to the bustle of city life. An imagination of a sense of joy in discovering this hidden cloister in an urban forest, has guided the proposal. Memory is evoked all the while, through re-interpretation of the traditional elements and a play on contrasts between density and void, heaviness and lightness, the subterranean world and the pavilion.
Akin to Michael Heizer’s earth art, wherein negative spaces are sculpted from the earth, the proposal creates a pure subtraction of ground as a psychological ‘void’ space in the Suncheon old city. The open-to-sky quadrangle that results from this act is then seamlessly connected with the riverbank, opening up a new linkage in the heart of the old city. The quadrangle thus acts as a buffer – as a transitory space into the old city. As culture is a dynamic construct that keeps evolving, the proposal aims to forge an urban relationship that might last longer than temporal processes.
The park
A park conceals the quadrangle from the neighbouring streets and their noise, creating a quiet cloister – a green island in the midst of an urban situation. It negotiates between the scales of the city and the quadrangle. In a reinterpretation of traditional Korean temples, where parks surround the buildings and the buildings define their limits, a dual relationship is thus created between the built and unbuilt spaces.
Traces of the wall here bring forth recollections of a historical layer that has been erased, bridging a continuity between history and modernity. By intending dense planting of different species of flora, the Humanities City might echo the efforts of the Eco-City of Suncheon, emphasising the eco-imperatives of today within a major urban setting.
The passage
To define the limits of the open-to-sky quadrangle, two linear elements are settled diagonally opposite each other. They share a relationship of duality and emphasise directionality from the riverbank in the south to the quadrangle and the Art Centre, and further onwards to the cultural streets that branch out towards the north.
At the junction between the two major urban parts – the quadrangle and the riverbank – are situated a cafetaria and a kiosk pavilion that help to solve this transition and revitalise the river.
The built
While the limits of the open-to-sky quadrangle are protected from above by the enclosing park, ‘within’ the ground a shaded cloister surrounds the quadrangle. Across this threshold space that exists between light and shadow, are carved many subterranean rooms – following the same system of pure subtraction of mass. The quadrangle is thus left as a free centre – as a visual anchor point for circulation.
The proportions
A simple system is devised for this incremental growth around the quadrangle, with the traditional measure ‘kan’ – that refers to the spacing between columns – being used to derive the proportions. The subterranean rooms are therefore established on the basis of a 3.60 x 3.60 m module.
The making
These rooms and their adjacent cloister are made with large pieces of granite stone. From this heavy stereotomic base, the two light pavilions that rise opposite each other are made in the tectonic of steel. In this manner, a pronounced stratification is created between the two layers. The system – with a heavy horizontal base made in granite stone and a light pavilion that floats above it – is reminiscent of traditional Korean architecture, whilst opening up the heart of the old city to contemporary interpretation.
The experience
The two pavilions – the new Yeonja-ru and the access to the Art Centre – have a rhythmical system that transforms the linear spaces into vibrant ones. The pavilions refer to history through their aspiration to ascend towards the sky as continuous porticoes. Conceived as simple solutions for transitioning from place to place, the pavilions interpret a particular quality of the old Yeonja-ru – to never allow time to pass by unobserved. The built therefore becomes a tapestry that constantly transforms over the seasons, allowing in different colours, smells and light.
This experience of the pavilions is brought in striking contrast with the atmosphere of the low-lying, cave-like spaces that house the exhibitions, the visitors’ centre and other programmes.
The project seeks to balance the speed of contemporary society in Suncheon with the creation of a ‘sacred’ space that lends a very different atmosphere to the bustle of city life. An imagination of a sense of joy in discovering this hidden cloister in an urban forest, has guided the proposal. Memory is evoked all the while, through re-interpretation of the traditional elements and a play on contrasts between density and void, heaviness and lightness, the subterranean world and the pavilion.
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