Switzerland v. Gyonam-dong Alps

Nevermind that dull tower rising over Pyeong-dong, down the hill; the new Swiss Embassy truly was the last missing piece in Gyonam-dong's jigsaw puzzle. How does it fit? Can it add some soul to a lobotomized neighborhood? First impressions after a visit organized on May 15, just days before its inauguration.

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In 1974, to build its Embassy, the Confederation purchased a land enjoying a spectacular view over the valley West of Sadaemun's fortress walls, all the way from Namsan to Inwangsan. Over the decades that followed, and particularly the past fifteen years, high rise buildings and apartment blocks have claimed big chunks of it, and 6 years ago the neighborhood was almost totally wiped out to make room for Gyonam / Donuimun New Town and its anonymous towers, destroying priceless wonders in the process (see "In memoriam Samdong Samgeori, Gyonam-dong" ).

The Swiss could have looked for another location, and maybe join such Embassy clusters as Seongbuk-dong or Itaewon / Hannam-dong, but they courageously decided to stay. Well they did move to Hannam-dong though, but only the time to avoid that apocalyptic mutation, and to replace their nondescript red brick lair with something new. Here it is, now facing Gyeonam-dong alps instead of Geumhwasan and Tongil-ro valley:

Photo Erae Architects - Swiss Embassy website

Halfway between Hong Lampa house in Hongpa-dong, and the sanitized* Donuimun Museum Village in Sinumunro 2-ga, the new landmark confirms this section of Songwol-gil as some kind of green and architecturally diverse oasis.

One roof, continuous wings, a central madang... the 2019 Swiss Embassy clearly honors the hanok style, but with a modern, deconstructed twist, and a broken version of the traditional 'ㅁ' or 'ㄷ' shapes:

The open spiral from above (mockup - Burckhardt Partner website)

Logo created for the Embassy inauguration

More an open keyring than a locked up Swiss bank vault, this Embassy wraps you up without cutting you from its environment, providing at the same time intimacy and transparency. The wide windowpanes facing the courtyard enable a dialog between the four wings (multipurpose, chancery, representation space, residence of Ambassador Linus von Castelmur), but the building is also open to its surrounding. Even the metal fence lets you see through. And if some semi-private spaces (cafeteria, living room) display some sort of ceramic moucharabieh, their lace is very wide. The biggest windows point to the sky or surrounding gardens, others direct your gaze to the greenest spots of the New Town, so that you never quite face its dead monoliths.

The outer concrete walls echo modern Swiss heritage, but wood is omnipresent, with epicea ceilings, staircases, slabs, and pilars. The lightness of the roof and structure, boosted by a gigantic sail cast over half the courtyard, could be achieved by the burial of most technical machinery in dedicated basement corridors. We also visited the nuclear shelter, compulsory for public structures of a certain size in Switzerland, but maybe not that irrelevant this side of the DMZ.

This environment-friendly building collects heat from the underground (30+ geothermal pumps), power from the sun, and water from the skies, sometimes in an artistic way, thanks to Lena Maria Thuring's 'Water connections' installation, where metal chains direct part of the flow from the rooftop to hanging stones and surface channels:

The visit was led by architects Nicolas Vaucher (Burckhardt Partner), and Lee In-ho (Erae Architects). Obviously, I followed the former:

Nicolas Vaucher in the madang, the staircase, the cafeteria, the nuclear shelter, the machinery, the residence's garden, the representation's dining room, the cultural section, the entrance.

Six years ago, I thought that all of Gyonam-dong's seven neighborhoods would disappear for good. They will never be brought back, but at least, somehow, part of Songwol-dong continues to exist under a new form.


Seoul Village 2019
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* see my lukewarm review in the "Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017" focus

Don't miss Le Corbusier in Seoul... The artist, not the urban planner!

Voluptuous sculptures, delicate aquarels, explosions of forms and colors...

... frankly, these are not the first things that come to mind when you think Le Corbusier and Seoul. For me, the association rather suggests that radical 1925 Plan Voisin for Paris, where he imagined the destruction of two square miles at the center of the capital to make room for what now looks like your classic Seoul New Town:

This model for Corbu's Plan Voisin (1925) looks like most 2016 mock ups in Seoul new town model houses. And Jeanneret would turn in his grave if he saw how his pilotis are used and abused across the Korean capital...

But mercifully, the not-to-be-missed exhibition at Seoul Arts Center doesn't venture into that particular dimension of Le Corbusier's amazingly prolific mind.

Le Corbusier Special Exhibition
Hangaram Design Museum (sac.or.kr)
2016.12.06(TUE) - 2017.03.26(SUN) - 11:00-19:00 (MAR 11:00-20:00)

Corbu time. Inauguration of Le Corbusier expo at Seoul Arts Center (With Antoine Picon - 20161206 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/806049947996950528)

If I braced for something big, I certainly didn't expect anything that overwhelming. This isn't an exhibition, but a full art museum devoted to a bulimic absorber of cultural influences, encompassing almost all forms of art, architecture being almost reduced to a pleasant background music, flowing naturally as the artist's lightest composition.

Many works have never been exhibited, and this prefigures an actual Le Corbusier museum in a much wider way than say last year's retrospective in Paris... even if the poster looks familiar (and even if, somehow, that one also struck a musical chord):

The weird music of architecture: these days you can play Le Corbusier on a Renzo Piano - Centre Pompidou, Paris (20150707 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/618311100606644224)

Flanking commissioner and Ronchamp expert Daniele Pauly, Ambassadors Linus von Castelmur (Switzerland) and Fabien Penone (France). Special mention to the former for elegantly mentioning in his opening speech even the most controversial sides of Corbu, as all nations and the UNESCO celebrate his cultural impact*

Many of Corbu artworks echo great artists (Picasso, Braque, Schiele..), but I have a weakness for this almost childish 'Paysage parisien imaginaire' (1917) - a dream-nightmare-ish view of Paname blended with Istanbul, with a contrast between colorful life and dark death (hanged man, war plane, constrained ships...)

Significantly, the artist is most celebrated as a great architect in a colorless, side space, under the eyes of Tadao Ando.

C for Corbu - Le Corbusier in Seoul (20161206 - instagram.com/p/BNrA2gzDfX4)

Anyway, don't you dare miss this major event. And if you happen to pass by Paris, don't miss his appartement-atelier, which literally speaks volume about the man*.
    
Seoul Village 2016
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* via La Fondation Le Corbusier's website - fondationlecorbusier.fr

KIAF 2008

After China (2002), Japan (2003), Korea (2004), Germany (2005), France (2006), and Spain (2007), the Korea International Art Fair welcomes Switzerland as its star country : 19 galleries, a Swiss Modern Art Exhibition, and a "What You Get Is What You Want" special exhibition for emerging Swiss talents (none of the 9 young artists selected for KIAF Finds Hidden Treasure comes from the guest country).

But KIAF 2009 goes beyond the partnership between the Gallery Association of Korea and Art Galleries Switzerland (AGS) : 20 countries are represented, and 102 of the 218 galleries are foreign. Korea boasts 116 galleries, Europe 65 (Germany 27), Asia 29 (16 from Japan), Americas 7 (USA 5), and Australia 1. Overall, about 1,500 artists and 6,000 works exhibited.

OK. Enough figures. Except maybe the entrance fee : KRW 15,000. Expensive, but the show is worth it.

I was positively impressed by the quality of the selection, much more exciting than what you could find in - say - a FIAC a couple of years ago. Of course, Chinese artists remain quite popular, and Japanese pop art as well (ie Yoshitomo Nara), but there was a definitely European / auteur flavor, and not just because of the guest country. And a refreshing variety.

Pros seemed to be touching wood : in spite of the economic downturn, the contemporary art bubble remains, and this show appears to be a success so let's enjoy it, you never know how things will fare next year...

Korea enjoys a powerful contemporary art ecosystem along the whole chain from creative design schools to wealthy art lovers, galleries hubs across the capital city, Gyeonggi-do and many other regions, regional exhibitions and fairs with an international reach, new landmarks (ie Leeum)... and as the Korean won takes the plunge, foreign buyers can shop at bargain prices.

But offer is exceeding demand, and quantity often comes before quality, the shell before the pearl. Like in Paju : I remember visiting Heyri Art Village in its maiden year, and it looked more like an architectural contest for hipsters than a genuine artistic proposition. Still, Korea has a knack for forcing success in this field.

Like everywhere else, many galleries will fold, though. Or devote more space to their cafes and boutiques to make ends meet. Young talents will face tougher times to reach their publics, but there's still the ASYAAF...

KIAF plays an important role to position the country globally, and this edition surely confirms Korea as a major player. KIAF 2009 will be an interesting test. Unless another art bubble inflates by then, matching 2008 will be difficult. And each exhibitor will be tempted to take little risk. But some may remember that uncertain times tend to spur creativity and the hunger for it.

Seoul Village 2008


KIAF 2008 / Korea International Art Fair
Guest Country-Switzerland
September 19-23, 2008
Pacific Hall and Indian Hall, COEX, World Trade Center
Samsung-dong, Seoul, ROK 135-731

Visitors can also enjoy synergies with Busan Biennale (until november).