Archinect - News

Morphosis unveils designs for a new Korean American National Museum in Los Angeles

2019-08-08T15:41:00-04:00

Architecture firm Morphosis has unveiled its sleek and verdant designs for the new Korean American National Museum in Los Angeles.

The two-story building is topped by a "displaced landscape" made up of plants native to the Korean peninsula and California, including maple and pine trees and bamboo shrubs. Described in a project statement as "a piece of Korea grafted onto Los Angeles," the rooftop garden overlooks a courtyard building designed to reference traditional Korean Hanok dwellings, a type of residential architecture designed and sited in relation to its surroundings. In the cold northern regions of the peninsula, for example, Hanok houses can be square-shaped, an approach that helps to retain heat and block cold winds; The approach has been adopted for the new museum, which is arranged with a series of interconnected galleries, meeting rooms, and offices circling a central open space.

View of the museum's central courtyard. Image courtesy of Morphosis.

Renderings for the p...

Seoul housing development builds traditional hanok designs for a slower lifestyle

2018-09-04T13:36:00-04:00

Eunpyeong Hanok Village was selling locals hanok, the traditional Korean tile-roofed residences that have, after hundreds of years, increasingly been destroyed and replaced by towering steel structures; indeed, not since the 1930s have hanok been constructed in significant numbers. The decline of vernacular architecture in the face of global urbanization is, of course, hardly new, though traditional Korean hanok are a particularly stark contrast to modern city living.

A new housing development, Eunpyeong, in northern Seoul is solely dedicated to constructing traditional Korean hanok houses. The design adheres to certain guidelines on proportion and design, with a low center of gravity, a courtyard, and an orientation towards nature.

The hanok's popularity comes from a need to connect to Korean identity and a desire to slow down from a past-paced economy. The minimalist design confronts the occupant with the amount of stuff they own and orients them to reconsider a new, slower way of life.

Korean Dance-Off and Cory Booker

2011-04-15T20:10:06-04:00

Korea GSD hosts one of the very best Beer and Dogs* events of the year because they prepare Korean food and a dance performance. This year, the Graduate School of Education (GSE) also sent a group to perform.