Architecture and Words
| Period | 2025. 10. 31 - 2025. 11. 23 |
| Place | Künstlerhaus, Wien |
| Host by | Künstlerhaus |
| Period | 2025. 10. 31 - 2025. 11. 23 |
| Place | Künstlerhaus, Wien |
| Host by | Künstlerhaus |
“In the beginning was the Word…” This famous biblical phrase lies at the heart of Architecture and Words, an exhibition exploring the unique creative philosophy of Korean architect Seung H Sang. The twin pillars of Seung’s practice are writing and building, which he treats as symbiotic crafts. In accordance with this philosophy, he typically constructs with words before he constructs with metal or bricks. Just as an architect plans and assembles materials into a physical structure, a writer organizes thoughts into narratives. Thus, for Seung, a poem, a sketch, and a building are all part of one continuous process of giving form to ideas. Designing a house or city is ultimately about writing a story of better living. He once described this process by borrowing the words of Heidegger, “Language is the house of Being. Thus, architecture becomes the being of language, and in this way, poetically man dwells.”
This exhibition is an immersive journey through Seung H Sang’s world of architecture and words, where visitors will discover how concepts on the page are realized in concrete, steel, and light. An array of fascinating materials are presented to illuminate the dialogue between thought and space in Seung’s work, including essays, diaries, concept sketches, architectural drawings, models, photographs, furniture, and even a life-sized recreation of a munbang (traditional Korean room). Showcasing pivotal projects from his entire career—from contemplative memorials to innovative cultural spaces— Architecture and Words celebrates Seung’s exceptional contributions to modern Korean architecture and his lifelong exploration of language as a fundamental part of architectural expression. The result is a rich narrative of place and identity that will surely inspire visitors with the poetic power of architecture fused with the written word.
“태초에 말씀이 있었다…”
이 유명한 성서의 구절은 한국 건축가 승효상의 독특한 창작 철학을 탐색하는 전시 『건축과 말의 중심에 자리합니다. 승효상의 작업을 떠받치는 두 개의 기둥은 글쓰기와 건축하기이며, 그는 이 두 행위를 서로 긴밀히 연결된 작업으로 여깁니다. 그의 철학에 따르면, 그는 벽돌이나 철로 짓기 이전에 먼저 말로 짓습니다. 건축가가 재료를 설계하고 조합하여 물리적 구조를 만드는 것처럼, 작가는 생각을 조직하여 서사를 구성합니다.
이러한 이유로 승효상에게 있어 시, 스케치, 건축물은 모두 하나의 연속된 과정의 일부이며, 이는 ‘사유를 형태화하는 일’입니다. 집이나 도시를 설계하는 일은 곧 더 나은 삶을 위한 이야기를 써 내려가는 일입니다. 그는 이 과정을 하이데거의 말을 빌려 이렇게 말한 적이 있습니다. “언어는 존재의 집이다. 그러므로 건축은 언어의 존재가 되며, 그렇게 인간은 시적으로 거주한다.”
이번 전시는 승효상 특유의 ‘건축과 언어의 세계’를 몰입감 있게 체험할 수 있는 여정으로, 관람객들은 그가 종이 위에서 구상한 개념들이 어떻게 콘크리트와 철, 빛을 통해 실현되는지를 만나게 됩니다. 그의 작업 속에서 사유와 공간 사이의 대화를 밝혀주는 다채로운 자료들이 전시되며, 그에는 에세이, 일기, 콘셉트 스케치, 도면, 모형, 사진, 가구, 심지어 1:1 스케일의 ‘문방(文房)’(전통 한국식 방)의 설치물까지 포함됩니다.
성소의 공간부터 혁신적인 문화 공간에 이르기까지, 그의 전 경력을 아우르는 주요 프로젝트들이 전시되며, 『건축과 말』은 현대 한국 건축에 대한 승효상의 탁월한 기여와 언어를 건축 표현의 본질로 탐구해온 그의 평생에 걸친 여정을 조명합니다.
그 결과물은 장소와 정체성에 대한 풍부한 서사이며, 건축과 글이 어우러질 때 피어나는 시적 힘으로 관람객에게 깊은 영감을 전할 것입니다.
Project Highlights:
Aewol Hangeo:Refuge of the “Moon by the Water”
“May all souls rest in peace; those whose fearful torment is past, those whose sweet dreams are over, those sated with life, those barely born, who have left this world: may all souls rest in peace!” Johann Georg Jacobi 1740–1814
Myeongjeong: Invisible Observatory
“But hope that is seen is no hope at all. For who hopes for what they already have?” Romans 8:24
Myungrye Sacred Hill: Biblical Landscape
The Korean word “sungyo”, meaning “martyrdom”, signifies to die and live again, evoking the words of Father Lee Je-Min: “I don’t believe in the afterlife. Only the living can be resurrected.”
Retreat Centre of Saint Benedict Waegwan Abbey: House on the Border
The Korean word for a Christian retreat is “pijeong”, which implies stepping outside one’s boundaries and enduring suffering, before ultimately finding serenity. Or in the words of Saint Alphonsus Liguori 1696–1787, “Intrate toti, manete soli, exite alii” (“Enter completely, remain alone, exit transformed”).
Gravesite of President Roh Moohyun :Landscape of the Self-Exiled
“Intellectuals should be the ones to question patriotic nationalism, corporate thinking, and a sense of class, racial or gender privilege….The exilic intellectual does not respond to the logic of the conventional but to the audacity of daring, and to representing change, to moving on, not standing still.” Edward Said 1935–2003
Hayang Muhakro Church: “Ecclesia” for Calling Out
“Nothing is more mysterious than clarity.” Paul Valéry 1871-1945
Sian Park Cemetery: “A Thousand Winds”
“Do not stand by my grave, and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am the thousand winds that blow…” Clare Harner 1909-1977
Wasa: Monastery in Ruins
“Ruins provide incentive for restoration, and for return to origins…The old order has to die before there can be a born-again landscape…History ceases to exist.” J.B. Jackson 1909–1996
Hyeonam: Humble Shelter
“On a deep winter’s night when a wild, pounding snowstorm rages around the cabin and veils and covers everything, that is the perfect time for philosophy.” Martin Heidegger 1889–1976
Monastic Shelter: Hospitality Beyond Borders
Architecture that both stores our memories and becomes a part of them.
Sayuwon: Arboretum of Meditation
“Yes, nothing is transmissible except thought, the crown of our labour.” Le Corbusier 1909– 1977
Sadam: Wall by the Reflective Waterside
Everything is most beautiful when it recedes…
Seongok Seowon Academy: Place of Solitary Joy
“Were the virtuous men of old any different? They delighted in their way and forgot about worldly power.” Mencius 372–289 BCE
Josa: Monastery of Birds
A monument for all the living creatures of this land. How beautiful is life in all its forms…
Cheomdan: Altar Ascending to the Stars
Closer to the stars than to the earth, we realize the insignificance of an earthbound existence.
Soowoojae: House of Foolishness
“True perfection seems imperfect…True fullness seems empty…True straightness seems crooked, true intelligence seems foolish, true art seems artless.” Laozi, Tao Te Ching c.4th century BCE
Great foolishness is sometimes preferable to great knowledge.
Manchwiheon: House of Everlasting Greenery
An aged pine slowly growing by the stream, forever retaining its verdure.