THE OUTDOOR ROOM

THE OUTDOOR ROOM is a pavilion for the 4th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism and is an architectural device to sense land and city. The simplicity of the square structure aims to capture the complexity of the environmental and cultural history which endows great significance to the opening of its site, Songhyeon-dong, to the public. Once an ancient pine forest attached to a royal palace, in the second half of the century, Songhyeon-dong was a void, enclosed by walls and isolated from the rapidly growing urban environment around it. As the walls come down and the park opens to the public, becoming available to the citizens of Seoul, it remains enclosed by the density of the city surrounding it. Therefore, THE OUTDOOR ROOM is a void within a void which frames the history of change for land and city.

Its construction assembles materials which have been repurposed from another structure designed by Diagonal Thoughts. The lifecycle of these elements transcends the structure itself as they will carry on after the biennial and become adapted to a new use once again. Within the limits of its current form, visitors will discover a garden of native plants and a chimney which reverberates with the wind. It will be a place of arrival, and a place to stay for a while and sense the sky, the mountains, and the tops of buildings.

Sponsors: Sociedad Mercantil Estatal de Acción Cultural SA / PICE-Mobility Grant(Programa para la Internacionalización de la Cultura Española), The Embassy of Spain in South Korea