Tracing the Korean Pavilion

Loading SketchUp Model

Stage 5. Pavilion Raised Above Ground

1994.01.07

Topography Preservation
Above-Ground Pavilion
Cylinder Mass
Lagoon
View
Undulating Wall
Trees

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

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

In response to the stringent requirement of the City of Venice to preserve the site’s sloping topography, this proposal departs from the partially below-ground scheme of the previous stage and instead organizes the entire space above ground. This proposal attempts a rearrangement of the building mass while retaining the compositional method of proliferating cubic modules derived from the orientationThe direction in which a building sits and faces and scale of the existing brick building. The “floating cylinder,” first introduced in Stage 3, is relocated to the eastern end, where its base forms the main entrance, and the wave-shaped glass window planned on the west side to frame views of the lagoonShallow body of water surrounding Venice, partially separated from the sea by sandbars develops into a semi-outdoor space defined by radial lines. The conceptual sketches also suggest that a structural system was considered in which the roof would be suspended by placing an independent column in the center of each cubic module. The undulating wall on the northern side—one of the symbolic sculptural elements of the Korean Pavilion—makes its first appearance. It emerged as a solution for an exterior wall design aimed at maximizing the size of the exhibition space while avoiding the site’s protected treesTrees legally protected that cannot be felled or transplanted arbitrarily. A model based on this proposal was also used as documentation for a meeting with Minister of Culture and Sports Lee Min Sup in February 1994.

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

The Stage 5 design was modeled on the basis of what is presumed to be the final version of the design reviewed by the two architects, derived from the floor plan sketches they exchanged (MC-VB-01511). The small window markings visible on the undulating wall in the floor plan were interpreted as windows intended to provide views toward the cluster of protected trees, and were incorporated into the model accordingly. The glass envelope radiating toward the lagoon was produced with reference to the model appearing in a photograph taken during a meeting with Minister of Culture and Sports Lee Min Sup (MC-VB-01657). In reconstructing the elevations, securing transparency—a primary objective of the designers—was taken as the guiding principle, and the spacing and number of frames were determined with reference to the lines drawn in the floor plan. The column, circle, and diagonal lines at the center of each rectangular module were interpreted as the cable structure pulling the roof upward from above and the column structure supporting it, elements that also appear in subsequent stages.

Reference Documents
Documents that illuminate the context and circumstances of the period.

Tracing the Korean Pavilion in Venice