Set in a former coal mining village in central Korea, the Bangjja Yugi Museum explores both material and memory, celebrating the life and work of master craftsman Lee Bong-ju. Recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage holder, Lee has dedicated his career to bangjja yugi – Korea’s centuries-old tradition of hand-forged bronze tableware, prized for its warm glow and resilience.The new cultural space, designed by Seoul-based Studio Heech, founded by Heechan Park, was conceived not only to host Bong-ju's precious archive and display it for discerning visitors; it also demonstrates through its very fabric the spirit of his ancient craft.
Explore the Bangjja Yugi Museum in South Korea
Creating parallels between the craft of making bronze pieces and the space that holds them, Park developed the museum as a 'building within a building.' Using the original warehouse, which already held the craftsman's archives - a simple steel-and-concrete warehouse which was reclad in timber in the past so as to appear like a traditional Korean hanok house - and not wanting to alter it further, the architect took a different path. The design solution centres on inserting an earth-built structure within the existing one.
The new element is divided into two, tactile rammed-earth sections, which create a layered experience for the visitor, who can stroll inside them or on the periphery - between the new and old structures. Revealing the raw state of the materials used and nodding to the handmade process of bronze forging, the Bangjja Yugi Museum envelopes its guests in texture.
A new, round staircase leads to a second level of exhibits and a solid-feeling granite flooring anchors everything to the ground. The entire concept plays with notions of opposites - old and new, authenticity and mimicry, memory and present experience.
Park writes in conclusion: 'Above all, the Bangjja Yugi Museum embodies the spirit of Lee Bong-ju’s craft: transforming raw material through persistence and repetition into something luminous. The museum’s rough earthen walls serve as a pure and uncompromising backdrop for the brilliance of the bronzeware, creating a setting where architecture and craft resonate as one.'
-
Bethan Laura Wood creates a pastel dreamscape to launch her new collaboration with SerapianInspired by Japanese landscapes and Serapian’s ‘Mosaico’ technique, Bethan Laura Wood creates a series of accessories, staged in an installation at Milan’s villa Mozart
-
Meet the new light of Jony Ive’s lifeJony Ive's LoveFrom and Japanese company Balmuda join forces to collaborate on the ‘Sailing Lantern’, an object informed by nature and precision
-
Step inside a ‘dream desert sanctuary’ tucked into Moab's rust-red landscapeSusannah Holmberg designed this home to harmonise with the extreme climate and dramatic surroundings of Utah’s Moab desert. 'The landscape is everything'
-
Thomas Heatherwick's 2025 Seoul architecture biennale calls for ‘radically more human’ buildingsThe 2025 Seoul architecture biennale launches in the South Korean capital, curated by Thomas Heatherwick, who argues for creating buildings in tune with emotion, 'the thing that drives us'
-
On Jeju Island, South Korea, a cabin stay with unobstructed views of forest and skyEgattoc is a new hospitality complex by architect Byoung Cho, who wanted to create an experience where guests ‘can see the forest while they take a shower’
-
Join our tour of Taikaka House, a slice of New Zealand in SeoulTaikaka House, meaning ‘heart-wood’ in Māori, is a fin-clad, art-filled sanctuary, designed by Nicholas Burns
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practicesIn the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
-
Studio Heech transforms a Seoul home, nodding to Pierre Chareau’s Maison De VerreYoung South Korean practice Studio Heech joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
Architect Byoung Cho on nature, imperfection and interconnectednessSouth Korean architect Byoung Cho’s characterful projects celebrate the quirks of nature and the interconnectedness of all things
-
2023 Seoul Biennale of architecture invites visitors to step into the outdoorsSeoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2023 has launched in the South Korean capital, running themes around nature and land through the lens of urbanism
-
Tadao Ando’s ‘Space of Light’, a meditation pavilion, opens in South KoreaTadao Ando’s ‘Space of Light’ pavilion opens at Museum SAN in South Korea
