Shinslab recycles a ship for MoMA’s Young Architects Program in Seoul
The installation by the winners of this year’s MoMA Young Architects Program in Seoul has just been revealed. Shin Hyung-Chul’s Shinslab Architecture has launched the office’s spatial proposal for the coveted honour in one of the South Korean capital’s most important cultural institutions.
The structure, created in collaboration with the Seoul outpost of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and entitled ‘Temp’L’, is cleverly designed from the recycled steel parts of an old ship.
Flagging up the beauty – and potential – of recycling, the piece also illustrates its creator’s fascination with vessels. Having spent his childhood in Europe, Shin was always inspired by large ships that appear to float ‘in and out of Venice’s exquisite buildings’. The architect took those images and combined them with Le Corbusier’s modernist teachings, that often drew parallels between modern architecture and ocean liners.
At the same time, the piece also represents industrialisation, with the ship as one of the 20th century’s largest structures and symbols of power and technology.
Inside, surfaces are rusty and rough, contrasted by the overall structure’s smooth, curved geometries, that hint to the hull of a ship. Conceived as an outdoor pavilion, featuring seating and planning, the installation will serve as a resting area for the museum’s visitors.
Offering an opportunity to young architecture offices to showcase their work to an international audience, MoMA’s Young Architects Program operates in Italy, Turkey, Chile and South Korea; 2016 is its third year in Seoul and its 17th worldwide edition. Temp’L will be on show in the museum courtyard of MMCA, Seoul until 3 October.
The installation is created out of the recycled parts of an old ship, a partial response to Shinslab director Shin Hyung-Chul’s fascination with the vessels and waterways of Venice.
The piece, explain the architects, combines the beauty of recycling, the power of industrialisation and the modernist teachings of Le Corbusier.
The smooth and curvy structure’s interiors are a combination of rough and rusty surfaces. The structure will serve as a pavilion, where the museum’s visitors can rest.
INFORMATION
Temp’L will be on view at MMCA Seoul until 6 October. For more information, visit MoMA's website.
ADDRESS
MMCA
30 Samcheong-ro, Sogyeok-dong,
Jongno-gu, Seoul 03062
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Hanker after a 1970s supercar? The Encor Series 1 elevates the Lotus Esprit to a new levelThis limited-edition remastering of the dramatic wedge-shaped Lotus Esprit stops at nothing to improve and enhance the original without losing sight of its analogue excellence
-
A new photo book takes you behind the scenes of some of cinema's most beloved films, from 'Fargo' to 'Charlie's Angels'Set decorator Lauri Gaffin captures Hollywood's quieter moments in an arresting new book
-
This sculptural London seafood restaurant was shaped by ‘the emotions of the sea’In Hanover Square, Mazarine pairs a bold, pearlescent interior with modern coastal cuisine led by ‘bistronomy’ pioneer chef Thierry Laborde
-
In South Korea, a new Bangjja Yugi museum honours a centuries-old Korean traditionStudio Heech transforms a coal-mining warehouse into a glowing cultural hub celebrating Korea’s master bronzesmith Lee Bong-ju – and the ancient craft of bangjja yugi
-
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'
-
How an icon of Japanese Metabolist architecture took on a life of its own – even after its destructionWhen Kishō Kurokawa designed the modular Nakagin Capsule Tower more than 50 years ago, he imagined it boarding ships and travelling the world. Now it has, thanks to a new show at MoMA
-
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