South Korean artist Do Ho Suh on judging this year’s Wallpaper* Design Awards

The London-based Korean artist is a longtime Wallpaper* favourite and collaborator (see W*216). His ongoing reimagining of places sort of like home has taken many forms, including and most recently Bridging Home, a plywood replica of a traditional Hanok-style Korean house, complete with bamboo garden, crash landed on a footbridge in the City of London.

Suh’s winning picks in the year’s Design Awards included Healing Stay Kosmos on Ulleungdo Island in South Korea, freshly anointed Best New Hotel. ‘I’ve never been, but I know the island is very small and pretty remote,’ he says. ‘It takes several hours on rough seas to get there. People are always seasick. And the island is notorious for storms and snow. So I thought it was really brave to build there. It’s a stunning building though and the views are incredible. And that’s not just Korean bias.’

Suh was also a blown away by Nichetto Studio’s ‘Astro’ fan. ‘I’ve been looking for a fan but it’s really hard to find one that it is nicely designed. I thought the “Astro” fan was just a beautiful object. It has a touch of the Eames’ about it.’

View the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2019 here

As originally featured in the February 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*239)