Tracing the Korean Pavilion

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Stage 2. Sunken Pavilion with a Square Hall and a Surrounding Corridor

1993.11.08

Variable Structure
Sunken
Lagoon
View

Modeling Sources
Documents directly reflected in the 3D model for the corresponding stage.

Fax from Kim Seok Chul to F. Mancuso MC-VB-01012

letter, document, drawing
1993-11-02
Kim Seok Chul

Design Commentary
The design content and its development as documented in the archival records.

The newly proposed exhibition space, presented in the previous stage as a rectangular floor plan, develops here into a semi-subterranean central space defined by four columns and walls, surrounded by a continuous corridorPassageway surrounding a building. Making use of the site’s sloping terrain, the exhibition space is lowered by approximately one story below the entrance level so as not to obstruct the surrounding landscape, while the roof is conceived as a variable structure to be installed only during the exhibition period. Recognizing the misalignment between the axes of the existing brick building and the new exhibition space, the architects introduced a transitional spaceIntermediate space connecting two spaces with different characteristics defined by a curved wall to mediate between the two. The brick building was also intended to be converted to exhibition-related functions and integrated as an important component of the new Korean Pavilion. It can also be confirmed that, in consideration of the existing pedestrian path crossing the site, entrances to the exhibition space were planned on both the northeast and northwest sides. Securing views toward the lagoon(Lagoon): Shallow body of water surrounding Venice, partially separated from the sea by sandbars was a design condition established from the outset. Accordingly, a wave-shaped full-width window was introduced at the western end of the square exhibition space, allowing visitors to view the lagoon from within the Korean Pavilion. This proposal nevertheless remained at a conceptual stage, as neither the site’s precise topography nor the locations of the existing trees had been taken into account.

Model Interpretation
TInterpretations and judgments made by the research team in reconstructing the 3D model.

The Stage 2 design was reconstructed with reference to the floor plan, section drawings, and projection drawings contained in the “Fax from Kim Seok Chul to F. Mancuso” dated November 2, 1993 (MC-VB-01012). Discrepancies in the drawings—which were produced before accurate site information became available, including the number of steps connecting the two levels, the degree to which the building was embedded in the ground, and the height of the walls projecting above ground—were resolved by fitting the model to a site model based on the actual survey data. In particular, modeling the columns at the width shown in the section drawing resulted in interference with the curved glass, and the column diameter was therefore reduced. The central arched ceiling section, identified in the drawings as a sliding canvas, was reconstructed by interpreting the lines shown in the floor plan as the supporting frame for the canvas. Consequently, the frames connecting to the structural members were rendered thicker, while the frames in the middle were rendered thinner.

Tracing the Korean Pavilion in Venice